How to find archived emails in Gmail (2024)

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Instead of permanently deleting emails in Gmail, consider archiving them. This hides them from your inbox while keeping them accessible for later. Here’s how.

Key takeaways:

• Archiving: Locate the “Archive” button (it looks like a box with a downward arrow) in the email selection menu.
• Finding archived emails: They’re not gone; they just moved to the “All Mail” folder. You can find this folder either as a label in the website’s sidebar or via the hamburger menu in the Gmail app.
• Advanced search: Use Gmail’s search bar to find your archived emails. Try keywords or filters like “-in:Sent -in:Draft -in:Inbox has:nouserlabels” to narrow your results.

Deleting emails from Gmail is irreversible. Archiving is a great way to clean your inbox without losing important information.

How to archive emails in Gmail: A step-by-step guide

Archiving emails in Gmail is a fantastic way to declutter your inbox without permanently deleting messages. Archived emails are removed from your main view but remain searchable and accessible whenever you need them. Here’s how to do it across different platforms:

On the Gmail website:

1. Select Emails:
   • Single email: Open the email you wish to archive.
   • Multiple emails: Click the checkboxes next to the emails you want to archive. To select all emails on a page, click the main checkbox at the top left.
2. Locate the archive button: Look for the button with a downward-facing arrow over a box in the top toolbar.
3. Click ‘Archive’: This will move the selected emails from your main inbox.

On the Gmail mobile app (Android or iOS):

1. Select Emails:
   • Single email: Open the email you want to archive.
   • Multiple emails: Long-press one email to enter selection mode, then tap others you want to archive.
2. Find the Archive button: It’s the same downward arrow over a box icon in the top toolbar.
3. Tap ‘Archive’: Selected emails will be moved from your inbox.

What happens to Archived emails?

Archived emails are moved to the “All Mail” section of your Gmail account. This is like a storage area for all your emails, including archived ones. You can easily find archived emails by typing relevant words into the Gmail search bar. You can also apply labels to your archived emails for better organization.

Key points to note:

• Archiving is not the same as deleting. Archived emails are still there, just not prominently visible. If someone replies to an archived email, it will pop back into your main inbox.

Additional tips:

• Create specific labels to categorize archived emails for easier retrieval (e.g., “Travel,” “Receipts,” “Project X”).
• To quickly bring archived emails back to your inbox, select them and click the “Move to Inbox” button.

Using the all mail label to find archived emails in Gmail

Gmail’s “Archive” feature offers a way to tidy up your inbox without permanently deleting emails. Archiving removes the “Inbox” label from an email, making it disappear from your main view. However, it doesn’t mean the email is gone. Here’s how to find and manage your archived emails:

• Gmail website:
  1. Locate the sidebar on the left side of your Gmail screen.
  2. Find and click on the “All Mail” label. This will display every email associated with your Gmail account, including archived ones.
• Gmail app:
  1. Tap the hamburger menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-left corner of the screen.
  2. Scroll down the menu and select the “All Mail” label.

The “All Mail” view does not sort by date or apply other filters by default. You may need to scroll or search to find specific emails. Gmail treats “Archive” as an action, not a storage location. Your archived emails reside within the overall “All Mail” collection.

Using the search bar for targeted results

To pinpoint a specific archived email, Gmail’s search bar is your ally. Here are some tips:

• Basic search: Try keywords, the sender’s name, email address, or parts of the subject line.
• Advanced filters: Use search operators to narrow results. For instance, typing -in:inbox will exclude emails currently in your inbox, helping surface archived messages.

Finding archived emails in Gmail using the search bar

Gmail’s ‘Archive’ feature is a great way to declutter your inbox without permanently deleting emails. However, finding archived emails can be tricky since there’s no dedicated “Archive” search label. Here’s how to locate them strategically:

Using the search bar:

• Keywords: Use the Gmail search bar to find archived emails by typing relevant words, phrases, the sender’s name, or the subject line.
• Advanced search operators: Get more specific with your search by using these operators:
  • -in:Sent -in:Draft -in:Inbox : Excludes emails in Sent, Draft, and Inbox folders, helping isolate archived items.
  • has:nouserlabels : Filters out emails that have been assigned category labels.

Accessing the “All Mail” folder:

• Web interface:
  1. Locate the sidebar on the left-hand side of your Gmail.
  2. Scroll down and click “More.”
  3. Select “All Mail.”
• Mobile app:
  1. Tap the three-line menu icon (hamburger menu).
  2. Select the “All Mail” option.

Archived emails are essentially emails without the “Inbox” label. Gmail searches consider all your mail, including archived messages. Combining keywords and search operators refines your results, saving you time.

Example: To find an archived email about project updates from your colleague Sarah, try the following search:

• Sarah project update -in:Sent -in:Draft -in:Inbox

Additional tips:

• If you recall a specific date range, add it to your search using the after: and before: operators (e.g., after:05/01/2024 before:05/15/2024).
• Consider any other labels the archived email might have had before removal from the inbox.