Delete and recover emails in Mail on iPad

In the Mail app , you can delete or archive emails you no longer need. If you change your mind, you can recover deleted emails.

Delete emails

There are multiple ways to delete emails. Do any of the following:

While viewing an email: Tap , then tap .
While viewing the email list: Swipe an email left, then choose Trash.
To delete the email in a single gesture, swipe it all the way to the left.
Delete multiple emails at once: While viewing a list of emails, tap Edit, select the emails you want to delete, then tap Trash.
To select multiple emails quickly, swipe down through the checkboxes.

To turn the deletion confirmation on or off, go to Settings > Mail, then turn Ask Before Deleting on or off (below Messages).

If you change your mind, immediately swipe left with three fingers to undo.

Recover a deleted email

Tap in the upper-left corner to view your mailboxes, then tap an account’s Trash mailbox.
Tap the email you want to recover.
Tap , then select a mailbox.

Tip: To see deleted emails across all your accounts, tap Mailboxes at the top left, tap Edit at the top of the list, then select the All Trash mailbox.

Archive instead of delete

You can archive emails in the Archive mailbox. (You can still choose to delete emails, even if you set up an Archive mailbox.)

Go to Settings > Mail, then tap Accounts.
Do one of the following:
- If you’re using an iCloud email account: Tap iCloud, tap iCloud again, then tap iCloud Mail.
- If you’re using another email account: Tap your email provider, then tap your email account.
Tap Advanced, then change the destination mailbox for discarded emails to the Archive mailbox.

Decide how long to keep deleted emails

With some email clients, you can set how long deleted emails stay in the Trash mailbox.

Go to Settings > Mail, then tap Accounts.
Do one of the following:
- If you’re using an iCloud email account: Tap iCloud, tap iCloud again, scroll to the bottom of the list, then tap Mail.
- If you’re using another email account: Tap your email provider, then tap your email account.
Tap Advanced, then tap Remove.
Select a time interval.

Note: Some email services might override your selection; for example, iCloud doesn’t keep deleted emails longer than 30 days, even if you select Never.

Helpful?

iPad User Guide

Delete and recover emails in Mail on iPad

Delete emails

Recover a deleted email

Archive instead of delete

Decide how long to keep deleted emails