Create & manage labels in Gmail
To organize your emails into categories like “Work,” “Family,” or “To-Do,” you can create labels in Gmail.
Labels are different from folders. Only you can access your labels. The people you email don’t get them. When you delete an email, it’s removed from every label and your inbox.
Create a label
Important:
- You can create up to 5,000 labels.
- If you create labels with the Gmail API, learn how to use the API for label creation.
Tip: Label visibility depends on your conversation view settings.
- If you turn on the conversation view, the label applies only to the existing messages, not to new replies.
- If you turn off the conversation view, labels appear only on the specific messages that you label.
Edit & delete labels
- On your computer, go to Gmail.
- On the left side of the page, hover over the label's name.
- Click More 👁 Image
👁 and then
Remove label.
- On your computer, go to Gmail.
- On the left side of the page, move to the label's name.
- Click More 👁 Image
👁 and then
Label color. - Select the label color you want to use.
- Or, to create your own label color, click Add custom color.
Tips:
- You can create up to 100 custom colors for your Gmail labels. Each combination of a custom background and text color counts as one of your 100 colors.
- If you find that a new custom color does not save, you may have reached the limit. You can apply a standard label color or reuse an existing custom color for the label.
Add a label
- On your computer, go to Gmail.
- Click Compose.
- At the bottom right, click More options 👁 Image
👁 and then
Label.
Show or hide labels
You can show or hide the labels that appear to the left of your inbox.
- On your computer, go to Gmail.
- At the top right, click Settings 👁 Settings
👁 and then
See all settings. - At the top, click Labels.
- Next to a label, click Show or Hide.
