Archiving might be the best option if you want to organize your Gmail inbox.

A message can be archived to remove it from your primary inbox while keeping it available. So if you want to organize your email without erasing everything and starting from scratch, this is a fantastic alternative.

Auto-archiving can be set up to prevent upcoming chats from cluttering up your mailbox. Emails can always be unarchived, and if someone replies to one, the reply will reappear in your unread messages.

What you need to know about Gmail’s archive feature is provided here.

Deleting versus Archiving

Here’s a quick comparison of the two before we get into the specifics of how to archive emails.

An email that you delete is placed in your Trash folder, where it will stay for 30 days. Messages in the trash are permanently erased after 30 days. Delete an email if you are certain you won’t ever need its contents or attachments again.

Emails that you archive are removed from your main inbox. Emails that have been preserved, as opposed to being erased, are kept forever. Emails that you unintentionally archive can be restored. The All Mail folder and search bar allow you to retrieve archived emails at any time; more on that later.

How to archive an email in Gmail

The method you’ll use will depend on your device.

On desktop

• Log in to your Gmail.
• Hover over the message you want to archive.
• Click the Archive icon, which looks like a box with a down arrow, and appears to the right of the email’s sender information and description.

On iPhone or iPad

• Open the Gmail app.
• Tap to open the message or tap to select the sender’s profile image. If you’re selecting the email profile image, you can select multiple profile images to archive all of the selected messages at once.
• Select the Archive icon at the top of the screen.

A quick tip: By swiping left or right, you can also set up swiping actions to archive a message. Go to Gmail Settings, touch Mail swipe actions, select left or right swipe, and set it to Archive to accomplish this.

On Android

• Open the Gmail app.
• Open the message you want to archive or select multiple messages that you want to archive.
• Tap the Archive icon.

How to find archived emails on desktop

Once a message is archived, you can find it either via the All Mail folder or using the search bar.

Using the ‘All Mail’ folder

• Hover your cursor over the left edge of the Gmail window. A sidebar will expand.
• Click All Mail from within that sidebar. If you don’t see that, click More and then scroll down to All Mail
• Any archived messages, as well as other non-deleted emails, will appear there.

A quick tip: Click the three-line icon in the top-left corner of the screen if you can’t see the sidebar grow.

Using the search bar

Unfortunately, you can’t simply search for the Archive label in the search bar to find those emails.

• If you know keywords for the email you’re looking for — for example, the topic, sender, or subject of the message — type those into the search bar and hit Enter.
• Go through the results to find the email in question.

How to find archived emails on the mobile app

These processes are the same regardless of whether you’re using an iPhone or an Android.

Using the ‘All Mail’ folder

• Open your Gmail app and log in to your account, if needed.
• Tap the three-line icon, located in the top-left corner of the screen.
• Select All mail.

Using the search bar

• Open the Gmail app.
• Tap the search bar at the top of the screen and enter your keywords.
• Go through the results to find the email in question.

How to unarchive emails in Gmail

If you decide you don’t want an email to be archived anymore, you have the option to unarchive it.

On desktop

•  Open Gmail on your Mac or PC.
• Find the email you wish to unarchive.
• Once you’ve found it, right-click the email and select Move to inbox.

On the mobile app

• Open the Gmail app on your iPhone or Android device.
• Find the email you wish to unarchive.
• Tap to open the message or tap to select the sender’s profile image.
• Tap the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner.
• Select Move to Inbox.

How to automatically archive emails in Gmail

You can set up emails to archive automatically when you hit send.

• Open Gmail.
• Click the gear icon on the top-right side of the screen, then See all settings.
• In the General tab, find the Send and Archive section.
• Select Show “Send & Archive” button in reply.
• Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes.