how to mass delete emails on gmail

3 hours ago 3

To mass delete emails in Gmail, follow these steps depending on your device:

Open Gmail and go to the folder or category (e.g., Inbox, Promotions) where you want to delete emails.
Click the checkbox at the top left to select all emails visible on the page (usually 50).
A prompt will appear saying "Select all conversations that match this search" or "Select all conversations in [folder]." Click this to select all emails in that category or search result, not just those on the current page.
Click the Trash icon to delete all selected emails.
To permanently delete, go to the Trash folder, select all emails there, and click "Delete forever" or "Empty Trash now" to free up space.

You can also use search filters to target specific emails before bulk deleting, such as:

This method works well for thousands of emails and Gmail will ask for confirmation before bulk deleting

Open the Gmail app and go to the desired label or category.
Tap and hold an email to enter selection mode.
Tap the circular icons next to emails to select multiple messages.
Tap "Select all" to select the first 50 emails on screen.
Scroll down to load more emails and tap "Select all" again to add more selections.
Tap the Trash icon to delete the selected emails.

Note that the Gmail app limits selection to visible emails, so you may need to repeat this process to delete large numbers

Gmail moves deleted emails to Trash, where they remain for 30 days before permanent deletion, so empty Trash to free space.
For more advanced bulk deletion (e.g., by sender, size, or date) and permanent removal without going through Trash, third-party tools like Clean Email can be used on both web and mobile

Bulk deletion may take some time to process if you delete a very large number of emails

This approach allows you to efficiently mass delete emails in Gmail either on desktop or mobile.