How to Archive or Unarchive Emails in Gmail

What to Know

• Archiving an email from your inbox will not delete the email.
• All archived emails will usually be found in the All Mail section of your Gmail.

What Does Archive in Gmail Mean?

In simple words, Archive means hiding an email from the inbox. While the email disappears from the main inbox, it’s not deleted completely. It’s only hidden from the main view. Moreover, you can always unarchive those emails later.

Sadly, there is no separate Archive folder where you can find your archived emails in Gmail. All the archived emails go into the All Mail folder (more on that below), which also houses your other emails. You need to remove it from there manually.

Note: The archived emails appear in the search results as well.

How to Archive Emails in Gmail on Mobile and Web (Desktop)

Gmail has a handy archive feature; the steps differ for PC and mobile apps. Let’s look at the steps for both.

On PC

Step 1: Launch the Gmail website and log in 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 on the Archive icon.

Pro Tip: Find out what is Snooze in Gmail and how to turn it on or off.

Alternatively, you may follow the below steps after launching Gmail:

Step 1: Tick the box for the email you want to archive; you may select as many boxes as you want simultaneously.

Step 2: Click the Archive icon at the top bar of the email.

On Gmail Mobile App

Step 1: Launch the Gmail app.

Step 2: Touch and hold the email to select it. Once selected, tap on the Archive icon at the top. You may select multiple emails for archiving at once.

Alternatively, you may swipe left on the email to archive it.

How to Find and Unarchive Archived Emails on Mobile and Web

Looking for Archived email can be a task, yet you can achieve it easily. The steps vary slightly for PC and mobile devices.

On PC

Step 1: Navigate to Gmail on your PC.

Step 2: Click on the All Mail folder on the left sidebar of your inbox. If you do not see the All Mail folder, click More.

Step 3: Click on the email you want to unarchive. When the email opens, click on the Move to Inbox icon at the top.

This will move the email back to the inbox, where you can view and access it directly.

On Mobile

Step 1: Open the Gmail app on Android, iPhone, or iPad. Tap on the three-bar icon to open the left sidebar > select All mail.

Step 2: Tap the picture icon next to the email you want to unarchive. When selected, tap on the three-dot icon at the top > choose Move to inbox.

Alternatively, open the email you want to unarchive. Tap on the three-dot icon at the top of the Gmail app > choose Move to inbox from the menu.

Tip: If you don’t see the Move to inbox option, select Move to > Primary.

Alternatively, you may search the Gmail search bar for the title or a keyword from your archived email. Once you find it, follow the steps above to unarchive it.