Modifying this control will update this page automatically

iPad User Guide

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:

  1. Go to the Mail app 👁 Image
    on your iPad.

  2. Do any of the following:

    • While viewing a Primary message: Tap 👁 the Delete button
      above the message.

    • While viewing a message list: Tap Select, then select the messages you want to delete by tapping their checkboxes. Tap 👁 the Delete button
      at the bottom of the message list.

      Important: When you select a Transactions, Updates, or Promotions message, you’re selecting all the messages in that category from the sender.

    • While viewing a sender’s digest view: Swipe left on a message, then tap 👁 the Reply Actions button
      .

To turn off the deletion confirmation, go to Settings 👁 Image
 > Apps > Mail, then turn off Ask Before Deleting (below Messages).

Recover a deleted email

  1. Go to the Mail app 👁 Image
    on your iPad.

  2. Tap 👁 the Sidebar button
    in the upper-left corner to view your mailboxes, then tap 👁 the Collapsed button
    next to the email account.

  3. Tap Trash, then tap the message you want to recover.

  4. Tap 👁 the Move button
    ,     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.)

  1. Go to the Settings app 👁 Image
    on your iPad.

  2. Tap Apps, then tap Mail.

  3. 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.

  4. Select Archive Mailbox (below Move Discarded Messages Into).

When this option is turned on, to delete a message instead of archiving it, touch and hold 👁 the Archive button
, 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.

  1. Go to the Settings app 👁 Image
    on your iPad.

  2. Tap Apps, then tap Mail.

  3. 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 your email provider, tap Account Settings, then tap Advanced.

  4. 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.

Thanks for your feedback.