how to delete old emails in gmail

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To delete old emails in Gmail, you can follow these methods:

Deleting Old Emails Manually in Bulk

  1. Use Search Operators
    • Log into your Gmail account.
    • In the search bar, type a query like older_than:1y to find emails older than 1 year (you can replace 1y with 6m for 6 months, 90d for 90 days, etc.).
    • Press Enter to display the emails matching this criteria.
    • Click the checkbox at the top left to select all emails on the current page.
    • If there are more emails than shown, click the link that says "Select all conversations that match this search" to select all matching emails.
    • Click the Trash icon to delete them.
    • Then go to the Trash folder and click "Empty Trash now" to permanently delete these emails

Using Gmail's Custom Date Range Filter

  • In the Gmail search bar, type in:inbox and press Enter.
  • Click the "Any time" dropdown above the emails and choose "Custom range" to specify the date range for old emails.
  • Select the emails in the results and delete them as above

Automatically Delete Old Emails with Filters

  • Open Gmail settings by clicking the gear icon and selecting "See all settings."
  • Go to the "Filters and Blocked Addresses" tab.
  • Click "Create a new filter."
  • In the "Has the words" field, enter older_than:1y (or your preferred time frame).
  • Click "Create filter," then check "Delete it" and confirm by clicking "Create filter" again.
  • This will automatically delete emails older than the specified age going forward

Using Third-Party Tools Like Clean Email

  • Clean Email is a secure app that helps organize and delete old emails easily.
  • Log in with your Gmail account at Clean Email.
  • Use the "Old Mail" filter to select emails older than 6 months (or other periods).
  • Select and delete emails in bulk or create rules to automate deletion

Summary

  • Use Gmail search with older_than: operator to find old emails.
  • Select all and delete, then empty Trash to free space.
  • Set up filters to auto-delete old emails in the future.
  • Consider using apps like Clean Email for easier management and automation

This approach helps efficiently clear out old emails and manage your Gmail storage.