How To Delete All Emails on Gmail (in 5 Easy Steps)

If your Gmail inbox is overflowing, you might be looking for a quick way to delete all emails in Gmail at once. Gmail doesn’t make mass deletion obvious, but it is possible with a few simple steps on the web. In this guide, we’ll show you how to completely clear your Gmail inbox (or even your entire account’s emails) in one go.

Quick steps (web)

1. Open Gmail → All Mail: In the left sidebar, click More → All Mail.
2. Select page: Click the top-left checkbox above the message list.
3. Select everything: Click Select all X conversations in All Mail.
4. Delete: Click the Trash icon and confirm the bulk action.
5. Permanently remove: Go to Trash → Empty Trash now.

Quick steps (mobile app)

1. Open Gmail → go to Inbox / All Mail / a label.
2. Batch-delete: tap-and-hold / long-press one email → select more → 🗑️ Trash → scroll and repeat for more batches.
3. Swipe-to-delete (faster): Menu (☰) → Settings →
   • iPhone: Inbox customizations → Email swipe actions
   • Android: General settings → Mail swipe actions
     Set a swipe to Delete → swipe through the list.
4. Full wipe from phone (desktop site): Open Safari/Chrome → mail.google.com → request Desktop site (aA on iPhone / ⋮ on Android) → All Mail → top-left checkbox → Select all X conversations in All Mail → 🗑️ Delete.
5. Permanently remove: Menu (☰) → Trash → Empty trash now.
   • (Optional: Spam → Delete all spam messages now.)

Read this before deleting all Gmail emails

Before you mass-delete emails, take a moment to consider a few important points:

• Backup important emails: Once you delete emails and empty the trash, they’re gone forever. If you have messages with important attachments, receipts, or data, consider backing them up. You can use tools like Google Takeout to export all your Gmail data before deletion.
• Check for critical info: Scan for any password reset messages, two-factor codes, license keys, or legal documents you might need. Often, old emails contain login links or personal information. Make sure you won’t lose access to other services by deleting these emails.
• Deleting vs. archiving: Gmail offers archive and delete options.
  • Archiving an email removes it from your inbox but keeps it in All Mail (so it’s still searchable and retrievable).
  • Deleting an email moves it to Trash and ultimately removes it after 30 days.
• All mail vs. inbox: In Gmail’s web interface, the All Mail view includes all emails in your account (Inbox, Sent, Drafts, everything except Spam and Trash). When we say “delete all emails,” we’ll be working in the All Mail folder to ensure every message gets removed.

Having taken these precautions, you’re ready to clear out your Gmail. Below are step-by-step instructions.

How to delete all emails on Gmail on the web

The fastest way to delete all your Gmail emails is via the web browser interface on a computer. This lets you select every email in your account and delete them in just a few clicks. Follow these steps on Gmail’s web version:

1. Open Gmail and go to All Mail

Log in to Gmail on your computer. In the left sidebar, scroll down and click More to expand the folder list, then select All Mail. This view shows every email in your Gmail account (except Spam and Trash).

💡 If you only see Inbox, Sent, etc., you may need to click More to reveal the All Mail option.

2. Select all messages on the page

Once All Mail is open, look at the top of your email list.

Click the select checkbox (a square icon) at the top-left above your emails next to the Refresh button.

This will select all emails currently visible on the first page. Gmail usually shows 50 conversations per page by default.

3. Select all conversations in All Mail

After clicking the checkbox, Gmail will display a small banner above your emails that says All 50 conversations on this page are selected.

Next to that, there will be a clickable option to Select all X conversations in All Mail. Click that link. (The X will be the total number of emails in your All Mail, e.g., 2,300 conversations.)

Gmail will now select every email in your All Mail folder, not just the first page.

4. Delete the emails

With all emails selected, click the Delete icon (trash icon) in the action toolbar at the top of the Gmail interface.

Gmail may ask you to confirm this bulk action with a pop-up saying Confirm bulk action; if so, confirm by clicking OK. All of your selected emails will then be moved to the Trash folder.

5. Empty Trash to permanently delete (optional)

Deleted emails in Gmail aren’t immediately erased forever; they stay in the Trash for 30 days.

If you want to free up storage space immediately or ensure the emails are gone, you should empty your Trash.

To do this on the web: click Trash in the left sidebar (you might have to click More to find it), then click Empty Trash now at the top and confirm.

💡 Also, consider emptying your Spam folder, as spam emails can accumulate and use storage; in the Spam folder, you’ll see an option to Delete all spam messages now.

How to delete all Gmail emails on mobile

The Gmail app (on both iPhone and Android) does not provide a “select all” button to delete everything in one go. Google intentionally left out bulk-select on mobile to prevent accidental mass deletions.

However, you can still delete emails in bulk on the app by selecting multiple emails at once, just in smaller batches.

Here are your options to mass delete emails in the Gmail app:

Option 1: Batch-select and delete (in the app)

1. Open Gmail → go to Inbox, All Mail, or a label.
2. Long-press one email to start selection mode.
3. Tap more items to select a batch. (If Select all appears, it applies to the currently loaded list.)
4. Tap 🗑️ Trash at the top.
5. Scroll to load more emails and repeat as needed.

Option 2: Swipe-to-delete (fast one-by-one)

1. Open Gmail → Menu (☰) → Settings →
   • iPhone: Inbox customizations → Email swipe actions
   • Android: General settings → Mail swipe actions
2. Set the Left or Right swipe to Delete (or Trash).
3. Return to your inbox and swipe messages to remove them quickly.

Option 3: Use Gmail’s desktop site on Android (true “select all”)

1. Open Chrome → go to mail.google.com.
2. Tap ⋮ → Desktop site.
3. Sign in → open All Mail → click the top-left checkbox → Select all X conversations in All Mail.
4. Click 🗑️ Delete and confirm.

Option 4: Empty Trash (and Spam) to free storage

1. Menu (☰) → Trash → Empty trash now (permanent).
2. Menu (☰) → Spam → Delete all spam messages now (optional).

Conclusion

Clearing Gmail is fastest on the web: open All Mail, select the page, click Select all X conversations in All Mail, delete, then empty Trash (and optionally Spam) to free storage immediately. On mobile, you can batch-select or use swipe-to-delete, or switch your browser to the desktop site for a true select-all.

Want a cleaner, smarter system for your emails? 2sync can automatically bring your important Gmail messages into Notion so you can triage, tag, and turn them into tasks alongside your Google Calendar events. 2sync syncs Notion with apps you already use (Gmail, Calendar, Tasks, and more) so updates stay aligned.

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