Delete and recover emails in Mail on iPhone
You can delete or archive email messages you no longer need. If you change your mind, you can recover deleted messages.
![The Mailboxes screen. Below iCloud, mailboxes are listed from top to bottom, including the Trash mailbox. Tap it to see recently deleted messages.](https://help.apple.com/assets/6758C14AEA2BBD75D7023772/6758C150890517C4260090D6/en_US/fc77094afe8fe4845019e4b10505c0b5.png)
Delete emails
Go to the Mail app
on your iPhone.
Do any of the following:
While viewing a Primary message: Tap
.
While viewing a category message list: Tap Select, then select the messages you want to delete by tapping their checkboxes. Tap Trash at the bottom of the message list.
Important: When you select messages in Transactions, Updates, or Promotions, you are selecting all the messages in that category from the sender.
While viewing a sender’s digest view: Swipe left on a message, then tap
.
To turn off the deletion confirmation, go to Settings > Apps > Mail, then turn off Ask Before Deleting (below Messages).
Recover a deleted email
Go to the Mail app
on your iPhone.
Tap
in the upper-left corner until you see Mailboxes.
Tap
, tap the message you want to recover, then tap
.
Tap Move Message, then choose another mailbox.
Tip: To easily see all deleted messages, you can add a mailbox with deleted messages across all your accounts. Tap in the upper-left corner until you see Mailboxes, tap Edit at the top right, then select the All Trash mailbox.
Archive instead of delete
Instead of deleting email messages, you can archive them in the 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).
When this option is turned on, to delete an message instead of archiving it, touch and hold , then tap Trash Message.
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, then tap Mailbox Behaviors.
If you’re using another email account: Tap an email account, tap Account Settings, then tap Advanced.
Tap Remove, then 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.