Guide
How to Mass Delete Emails in Gmail
Search for the emails you want gone (for example category:promotions older_than:1y), tick the Select all box, click “Select all conversations that match this search”, then click Delete. Deleted mail sits in Trash for 30 days, so empty Trash to free the space now.
category:promotions older_than:1y
All 50 conversations on this page are selected. Select all conversations that match this search
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Step by step
How to bulk delete Gmail emails on a computer
- Type a search into the Gmail search bar, for example
from:[email protected]orcategory:promotions. - Tick the Select all box above the email list. Gmail selects every conversation on the current page.
- Click Select all conversations that match this search in the banner above the list. In a folder or tab without a search, the link reads Select all [number] conversations in [folder].
- Click Delete (the trash can) and confirm the bulk action.
- Need the space back now? Open Trash and click Empty Trash now.
- free storage, shared by Gmail, Drive and Photos
- 15 GB
- deleted mail stays in Trash before it's gone for good
- 30 days
- emails per Select all in the Gmail mobile app
- 50
- over quota before Google may remove content
- 2 years
Search operators
Gmail search operators for deleting in bulk
Search first, delete second. Operators narrow thousands of emails to exactly the ones you want gone, and you can combine them.
| Operator | Example search | Finds |
|---|---|---|
from: | from:[email protected] | Everything from one sender |
older_than: | older_than:1y | Mail older than a year (d, m or y) |
before: | before:2023/01/01 | Mail before a date |
larger: | larger:10M | Emails over 10 MB |
has:attachment | has:attachment older_than:2y | Old emails with attachments |
category: | category:promotions | The Promotions tab (also social, updates, forums) |
is:unread | is:unread older_than:6m | Unread mail you clearly don't need |
label: | label:receipts before:2022/01/01 | Old mail under one label |
filename: | filename:pdf larger:5M | Large PDF attachments |
Combined searches worth running
category:promotions older_than:1m # old promotions
category:social older_than:3m # old social notifications
from:@example.com -is:starred # a whole domain, keep starred
has:attachment larger:10M older_than:1y # big old attachments
is:unread older_than:1y # a year of unread mailThe # notes are for you, not Gmail: paste only the search. A minus sign excludes matches, so -is:starred protects anything you've starred. Category searches only work if you use inbox tabs.
Storage
Free up Gmail storage fast
Deleting thousands of tiny newsletters barely moves the needle. Large attachments do, and Trash and Spam count too.
Where your 15 GB goes
Free Google Account storage, per Google One Help.
- Search
larger:10Mand delete what you don't need. Trylarger:5Mnext. - Search
has:attachment older_than:2yfor old files you've probably saved elsewhere. - Open Trash → Empty Trash now, and Spam → Delete all spam messages now.
Sending outreach from your personal Gmail? Move it off
Mobile
Delete multiple emails in the Gmail app (Android and iPhone)
- Open the Gmail app and search, or open the folder you want to clean.
- Touch and hold one email to start selecting.
- Tap Select all at the top left, then tap Delete.
- The app selects up to 50 emails at a time, so scroll back to the top and repeat.
For anything over a few hundred emails, use Gmail in a web browser: the select-all-matches link only exists there.
Automate it
Auto-delete emails with a Gmail filter
Stop the same mail piling up again. A filter deletes matching emails as they arrive.
- On a computer, click Show search options in the search bar.
- Enter the sender, words or size to match, and click Search to check the results.
- Click Create filter, tick Delete it, and tick Also apply filter to matching conversations to clear what's already there.
- Click Create filter. Filtered mail goes to Trash, so it's recoverable for 30 days.
Using Outlook too? See how to recall an email in Outlook or schedule one. Setting up Gmail in another app? Here are the Gmail SMTP settings.
Sources: Gmail Help: Search operators, Delete or recover deleted Gmail messages, Create rules to filter your emails, How your Google storage works.
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Or see pricing →Frequently asked questions
How do I mass delete emails in Gmail?
On a computer, search for the emails you want gone, tick the Select all box above the list, click “Select all conversations that match this search”, then click Delete and confirm. Empty Trash afterwards if you need the storage back right away.
How do I delete all promotions in Gmail at once?
Search category:promotions (or open the Promotions tab), tick Select all, click the link to select every conversation, then click Delete. Add older_than:1m to keep anything recent.
How do I delete all emails from one sender in Gmail?
Search from:[email protected], tick Select all, click “Select all conversations that match this search” and click Delete. To catch everything from a company, use the domain: from:@example.com.
Can I bulk delete emails in the Gmail app?
Partly. In the Gmail app for Android or iPhone, touch and hold one email, tap Select all and tap Delete. The app selects up to 50 messages at a time, so for thousands of emails a computer is much faster.
Does deleting emails in Gmail free up storage immediately?
No. Deleted emails go to Trash and still count toward your storage until Trash is emptied, which Gmail does automatically after 30 days. Open Trash and click Empty Trash now to free the space immediately.
Can I recover emails after a bulk delete?
Yes, for 30 days. Open Trash, select the emails and click Move to Inbox. Once Trash is emptied, they're gone for good.