Our email inbox is full of various emails. While some are important, others are mostly either promotional or worth a one-time read only. It’s getting harder to organize Gmail’s inbox with a string of emails. At this point, various Gmail organization features come to the rescue, and one of them is the Archive feature. What is Archive in Gmail and how can you use it to organize your Gmail inbox? We will answer these concerns in this article.
The archive feature provides a great way to organize your Gmail inbox. By the end of this post, you will be familiar with all the tricks of Gmail’s Archive feature.
Lets start.
What is Archive in Gmail?
Archive, in simple words, means to hide an email from the main inbox. Archive is different from deleting an email. While the email disappears from the main inbox, it is not completely deleted. It is hidden from main view only. Archived messages are not deleted, so you can unarchive them later at any time.
Pro Tip: Learn what Snooze is in Gmail and how to turn it on or off.
What Happens When You Archive an Email in Gmail?
Think of the archive as putting your stuff in a storage box away from your main desk. While the items are still with you, they do not spoil the aesthetics of your table. Whenever you need an item from the storage box, you can always retrieve it. The only difference is that it is not immediately available. You will have to dig a bit to find the object you need. This is exactly how Archive works in Gmail.
So when you archive an email it disappears from Inbox in Gmail. Unfortunately, Gmail doesn’t have a separate Archive folder where you can find your archived emails. All archived email goes to the All Mail folder (more on that below), which also houses your other emails. You have to remove it manually from there.
Note: Archived emails also appear in search results.
How Long Do Archived Emails Stay in Gmail?
Since Gmail Trash has a validity of 30 days, you might be thinking that something similar should happen with the Archive feature. Well, there is no time limit on archived emails. Emails remain archived until you manually unarchive them as shown below. Alternatively, if someone replies to an archived email, it will automatically reappear in their inbox. Thus, the archived e-mail remains private as long as no one replies.
Archiving Emails in Gmail on Mobile and Web (Desktop)
Let’s start with the web first, then the Gmail mobile apps.
Step-by-Step Instructions to Archive an Email in Gmail on PC
Stage 1: Launch the Gmail website and login with your account.
Step 2: Hover your mouse over the email you want to archive. New icons will appear on the right side of the email. Click the archive icon.
Another way to archive an email is to open it. Then click the Archive icon in the top bar of the email.
To archive multiple emails, first select them using the selection boxes next to them. Then click the Archive icon at the top.
Steps to Archive an Email in Android, iPhone and iPad Apps
There are multiple ways to archive emails when using Gmail’s mobile apps.
Method 1
Launch the Gmail app. Tap and hold the email to select it. Once selected, tap on the Archive icon at the top.
Similarly, if you want to archive multiple emails, select them first. Choose an email for it. Then tap the profile picture icons next to the email. Once all required emails are selected, tap on the Archive icon.
Method 2
Another way to archive an email is to open it. Then tap the Archive icon at the top of the email.
Method 3
You can also use gestures to archive an email. But first, you need to check which gesture you should use to archive an email. To verify this, launch the Gmail app and open the left sidebar. Tap on Settings and then General Settings. Tap swipe actions. There you will see the swipe gesture for the Archive option. You can customize it using the Replace option and put or remove Archive for both left and right swipe gestures.
After you set your preferred swipe gesture, go to the main screen of the Gmail app. Use the same left or right gesture on the email you want to archive.
Fly: Learn how to create a signature in Gmail on mobile and the web.
How to Find and Unarchive Archived Emails on Mobile and Web
Searching for the archived email can be a task but you can easily achieve it with these methods.
Method 1: Unarchive Emails from All Mail Folder
As mentioned earlier, archived emails remain in the All Mail folder in Gmail. You need to open it and unarchive your email. Here are the same steps on PC and mobile.
Steps to Unarchive Emails on PC
On the Gmail website, click the All Mail folder in the left sidebar of your inbox.
If you don’t see the All Mail folder, click More and you will get the All Mail folder.
Under the All Mail folder, you’ll find all the emails you’ve received, including archived ones. Click the email you want to unarchive. When the email opens, click the Move to Inbox icon at the top. This will move the email back to your inbox, where you can view and access it directly.
Steps to Unarchive Emails in Gmail Mobile Apps
Open the Gmail Android, iPhone or iPad app. Tap the three-bar icon to open the left sidebar. Tap on All mail from the sidebar.
Tap the picture icon next to the email you want to unarchive. Once selected, tap the three-dot icon at the top. Select Move to inbox.
Alternatively, open the email you want to unarchive. You will find two three-dot icons on the screen. Tap the three-dot icon at the top of the Gmail app. Select Move to Inbox from the menu.
Fly: If you don’t see the Move to inbox option, choose Move > Primary.
Method 2: Unarchive Emails Using Search
If you’re looking for an old archived email, the above method might seem a bit overwhelming. An alternative way to unarchive an old email is to search for the archived email using the subject, contact name or body text. Because archived emails appear in search results, this is a safer way to unarchive your email. So, type the required search term in Gmail’s search bar and hit Enter.
Note: Check out our guide on how to use the search feature in Gmail like a pro.
Open the email you want to unarchive and click the Move to Inbox button at the top of the web.
On mobile, open the email and tap the three dots icon at the top. Select Move to inbox.
Delete or Archive Emails
By now you know how Archive works in Gmail and you must have found the best way to use it. You can use the Archive feature like a file cabinet for your emails to view only the relevant ones each time you open the inbox. A subtle way to organize your inbox without deleting emails. Verification, OTP, promotion, etc. that you no longer need. Use the Delete option to remove emails.
You can delete your archived emails if you want. For that, find the archived email as shown above and then tap/click on the Delete icon.
Next: Thinking of blocking someone on Gmail? Find out what happens when you block someone in Gmail using the next link.
