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Delete and recover emails in Mail on iPhone

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 the Delete button.

  • While viewing the email list: Swipe an email left, then choose Trash from the menu.

    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).

Recover a deleted email

  1. Tap the Back button in the upper-left corner, then tap the Collapsed button next to the email account.

  2. Tap the Trash button, tap the email you want to recover, then tap the Reply button.

  3. Tap Move Message, then choose another 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

Instead of deleting emails, you can archive them in the Archive mailbox.

  1. Go to Settings  > Mail, then tap Accounts.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • If you’re using an iCloud email account: Tap iCloud, tap iCloud again, tap iCloud Mail, then tap iCloud Mail Settings.

    • If you’re using another email account: Tap your email provider, then tap your email account.

  3. Tap Advanced, then change the destination mailbox for discarded emails to the Archive mailbox.

When this option is turned on, to delete an email instead of archiving it, touch and hold the Archive button, then tap Trash Message.

Decide how long to keep deleted emails

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

  1. Go to Settings  > Mail, then tap Accounts.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • If you’re using an iCloud email account: Tap iCloud, tap iCloud again, tap iCloud Mail, then tap iCloud Mail Settings.

    • If you’re using another email account: Tap your email provider, then tap your email account.

  3. Tap Advanced, then tap Remove.

  4. 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.

See alsoOrganize email in mailboxesChange email settingsAdd Mail back to your Home Screen
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