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How to delete an email you sent

Learn how to delete an email you sent in Outlook, Gmail and Apple Mail. Discover easy steps and manage your inbox effectively.

First published

29.02.2024

Last edited

30.09.2024

Read time

5 minutes


    By Irena

    Irena is an experienced Content and Email Marketer who loves animals, slow mornings, and all things Tolkien.

    All of us working with emails on a daily basis know how quickly our inboxes get cluttered and how difficult it is to maintain an organised inbox. Deleting emails is one of the simplest, but most efficient ways to maintain a clean inbox. In this blogpost you will learn how you can delete emails.

    How to delete an email in Gmail

    How to delete an email on Gmail

    Source: Google

    • Navigate to "Sent" Folder: Locate the email you wish to delete.
    • Select and Delete: Click the checkbox beside the email, then press the "Delete" (trash bin icon).
    • Permanent Deletion: For immediate removal, go to "Trash", select the email, and click "Delete forever".

    Deleting emails in Gmail helps keep your inbox organized and free of clutter, ensuring that only necessary communications are kept for reference or action.

    How to mass delete emails in Gmail?

    Mass deleting emails in Gmail can help you manage your Gmail inbox more efficiently by clearing out unwanted or unnecessary messages. Here's a step-by-step guide to doing this:

    On a Computer

    • Open Gmail: Go to gmail.com and login if needed.
    • Select Emails:
      • To delete all emails from a specific category (like Promotions, Social, or Updates), click on that tab.
      • For a broader selection, use the search bar. For example, type older_than:1y to find emails older than a year.
    • Select Messages: Click the checkbox at the top left corner above your emails to select all messages currently displayed on the page.
      • Note: Gmail displays only 50 - 100 emails per page by default. If you have more emails than that, you'll see a message at the top of the email list saying "Select all conversations that match this search" if you used the search function, or "Select all XXX conversations in Primary" for category selections. Clicking this link selects all emails, not just those on the current page.
    • Delete: Click the trash can icon to delete the selected emails.
    • Confirm (if prompted): Depending on your settings or the action, you might need to confirm the deletion.

    On a Mobile Device

    • Open the Gmail App: Launch the Gmail app on your smartphone or tablet.
    • Select Emails: Tap and hold on an email to enter selection mode. Then, tap other emails you wish to delete, or tap the tiny circle letter/icon at the left of each email.
    • Delete: Tap the trash can icon to delete the selected emails.

    Emptying the Trash

    Deleted emails go to the Trash and will be automatically deleted after 30 days. To permanently delete them before this:

    • On a Computer: Go to the Trash folder, and click "Empty Trash now" at the top.
    • On a Mobile Device: Go to the Menu ☰, tap "Trash," then tap "Empty Trash now."

    How to delete an email in Outlook

    How to delete an email on Outlook

    Source: Microsoft

    To delete an email in Outlook:

    • Navigate to your "Sent Items" folder and locate the email you wish to remove.
    • Click on it to select, then press the "Delete" button. This moves the email to the "Deleted Items" folder. If you want to permanently delete it, you can go to the "Deleted Items" folder,
    • Select the email, and press "Delete" again, or right-click and choose "Delete" to remove it permanently from your account.

    How to delete an email in Apple Mail

    Managing your emails in Mail on your Mac can help keep your inbox tidy and free up space. Here's a straightforward guide on how to delete emails, view deleted messages, and permanently remove them.

    Deleting Emails

    • To delete a single email:
    • Open the Mail app and select the message you want to delete.
    • Click the Delete button in the toolbar, or hover over the message's header and click the Delete button that appears.
    • Tip: Hold the Option key while deleting to prevent the next message from being auto-selected and marked as read.
    • Alternatively, swipe left with two fingers on the trackpad or click Delete on a Mail notification to remove a message, if you've set the “Move discarded messages” option to Trash.

    To delete multiple emails:

    • In Mail, select the messages or conversations you wish to delete.
    • Click the Delete button in the toolbar or press the Delete key.
    • Deleting a mailbox removes all messages it contains.
    • Use the search function to find and delete messages by date or sender.

    Viewing Deleted Emails

    • The ability to view and retrieve deleted messages depends on your Mail settings.
    • Go to Mail > Settings, click Accounts, then select an account and click Mailbox Behaviors.
    • If a Trash Mailbox is specified, you can see deleted messages there until they're permanently removed. Drag a message from Trash to another mailbox to retrieve it.
    • If set to None, deleted messages are immediately removed and not available in Trash.

    Permanently Deleting Emails

    • To permanently erase deleted items:
    • Choose Mailbox > Erase Deleted Items, then select an account.
    • Or, Control-click a Trash mailbox in the sidebar and choose Erase Deleted Items.
    • Adjust the “Erase deleted messages” setting in Mail to automatically clear deleted messages after a certain period.
    • If you accidentally delete something, you can recover it from the Trash unless it's been permanently erased.
    • Use Time Machine backups to restore deleted content if necessary.

    Delete and recover emails in Mail on iPhone

    Delete emails in Mail on iPhone

    Source: Apple

    Deleting Emails:

    • Individual Emails: Tap the Delete button while viewing an email to remove it.
    • From Email List: Swipe left on an email and select Trash, or swipe all the way left to delete it in one gesture.
    • Multiple Emails: Tap Edit at the top of your email list, select the emails, then tap Trash.
    • Quick Select: Swipe down through checkboxes to select multiple emails quickly.
    • Disable Confirmation: To stop the app from asking before deleting, go to Settings > Mail and turn off Ask Before Deleting.

    Recovering Deleted Emails:

    • Find Deleted Emails: From the Mailboxes screen, tap Trash to see your recently deleted emails.
    • Recover an Email: Tap the email in Trash you want to recover, tap the Reply button, then Move the Message to another mailbox.

    Archiving Emails:

    • Setup Archive: Go to Settings > Mail > Accounts. Choose your account and tap Advanced to select Archive Mailbox.
    • Archiving Action: With the Archive set, you can archive by swiping or using the Archive button. To delete instead, hold the Archive button and choose Trash Message.

    Managing Deleted Emails:

    • Duration Before Permanent Deletion: Settings > Mail > Accounts lets you choose how long deleted emails stay in Trash before being removed.
    • Service-Specific Settings: Note that some services, like iCloud, have their own rules for how long emails stay in Trash.

    These steps offer a detailed approach to managing your emails in the Mail app, ensuring you can keep your inbox organized and recover important messages you might have accidentally deleted.

    Other methods of maintaining a clean inbox

    In addition to deleting emails, there are also other methods that you can apply to clean up your inbox. One of them is snoozing your emails. Mailbutler's Snooze feature lets you temporarily hide emails, that you want to deal with later, from your inbox, so that you can reach inbox zero. The snoozed emails then reappear in your inbox at the time you have set.

    Summary

    This guide explains how to delete emails to clean up your inbox and maintain an organized inbox in order to work more efficiently.

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