Delete and recover emails in Mail on iPad
You can delete or archive emails you no longer need. If you change your mind, you can recover deleted emails.
Delete emails
There are multiple ways to delete email messages. Do any of the following:
Go to the Mail app on your iPad.
Do any of the following:
While viewing a message: Tap above the message.
While viewing the message list: Swipe a message left, then choose Trash.
To delete the message in a single gesture, swipe it all the way to the left.
Delete multiple messages at once: While viewing a list of messages, tap Edit, select the messages you want to delete, then tap Trash.
To select multiple messages quickly, swipe down through the checkboxes.
To turn off the deletion confirmation, go to Settings > Apps > Mail, then turn off Ask Before Deleting (below Messages).
If you change your mind, immediately swipe left with three fingers to undo.
Recover a deleted email
Go to the Mail app on your iPad.
Tap or in the upper-left corner to view your mailboxes, then tap next to the email account.
Tap , then tap the message you want to recover.
Tap , then select a mailbox to move the message to.
Tip: To easily see deleted messages across all your accounts, you can add a mailbox with deleted messages across all your accounts. Tap Mailboxes at the top left, tap Edit at the top of the list, then select the All Trash mailbox.
Archive instead of delete
You can archive email messages in the Archive mailbox. (You can still choose to delete messages, even if you set up an Archive mailbox.)
Go to Settings > Apps > Mail.
Tap Mail Accounts, then do one of the following:
If you’re using an iCloud email account: Tap iCloud, then tap Mailbox Behaviors.
If you’re using another email account: Tap an email account, tap Account Settings, then tap Advanced.
Select Archive Mailbox (below Move Discarded Messages Into).
Decide how long to keep deleted emails
With some email clients, you can set how long deleted messages stay in the Trash mailbox.
Go to Settings > Apps > Mail.
Tap Mail Accounts, then do one of the following:
If you’re using an iCloud email account: Tap iCloud, tap iCloud again, tap iCloud Mail, tap iCloud Mail Settings.
If you’re using another email account: Tap your email provider, then tap your email account.
Tap Advanced, then tap Remove.
Select a time interval.
Note: Some email services might override your selection; for example, iCloud doesn’t keep deleted messages longer than 30 days, even if you select Never.