Skip to main content

How to delete and retrieve deleted emails on any iPhone or iPad

Carlos Vega/Digital Trends
So you’ve deleted an email you didn’t mean to, and now you can’t find it? Well, first of all, don’t panic. It’s actually quite easy to recover deleted emails on your iOS device. If you want to do a bit of housekeeping and clear your clogged inbox, then we will walk you through some simple steps on how to delete your emails on iPhone or iPad more efficiently. Then, we’ll walk you through retrieving anything you’ve sent to your Trash.

Want to know how to recall emails sent in Outlook? Check out our guide on the subject.

Related Videos

Deleting emails on an iPhone or iPad in Apple’s Mail app

How to delete an email while viewing it

Step 1: Open Mail, and select the email you want to read.

Step 2: Tap the Trash icon at the bottom of the toolbar.

How to delete several emails at once

Step 1: In your inbox, press Edit in the upper-right corner.

Step 2: Select the emails you want to delete.

Step 3: Tap Trash in the lower-right corner.

Some users may notice that they see “Archive” instead of “Trash” in the bottom-right corner. Archiving moves emails to the All Mail folder rather than deleting them (i.e., moving them to Trash).

As such, if you’d like to delete messages rather than archive them, you can go to Settings > Mail > Accounts > [Your email service, such as Gmail] > [Your email address] > Advanced. Next, tap Deleted Mailbox (under the Move Discarded Messages Into: subheading). Finally, tap Account (in the top-left corner) and then Done.

How to recover emails on an iPhone or iPad in Apple’s mail app

If you delete an email accidentally, there are a few ways you can track it down and put it back in your inbox.

How to recover several emails from the Trash

Step 1: While in your inbox, tap the Back button with the name of the account you are in to see all your mailboxes.

Step 2: Scroll down to the email account you want to recover your emails from and tap Trash.

Step 3: Tap Edit in the upper-right corner.

Step 4: Select the emails you want to recover, and tap Move at the bottom.

Step 5: Tap Inbox to move the email back to your inbox.

How to recover an email while viewing it

Step 1: While in your inbox, tap the Back button with the name of the account you are in to go back to all your mailboxes.

Step 2: Scroll down to the email account you want to recover your emails from, and tap Trash.

Step 3: Select the email you want to recover.

Step 4: While in the email, tap the Folder icon in the lower-left corner, beside the flag.

Step 5: Tap Inbox to move the email back to your inbox.

How to recover emails by shaking your phone

Shaking your device will allow you to recover an email, but it has to be done immediately after you delete the email in question. That said, it’s a great method if you deleted an email by mistake. It will also save you time because you won’t have to exit your inbox and search the trash for the email in question.

Step 1: After you delete an email, perform a shake to undo.

Step 2: After you shake your device, select Undo in the resulting pop-up window.

Editors' Recommendations

The best voice-recording apps for iPhone and Android in 2023
A man uses a smartphone on the street.

Microphones on smartphones are often much better than people give them credit for being. Whether someone is looking to start a podcast, record some music, or simply find a place to record their thoughts, recording apps will capture whatever sounds you need with relatively solid quality.

The best smartphones today have recording apps preinstalled right out of the box, but sometimes they leave a little bit to be desired for those looking for something more out of a voice recorder. Luckily, there are plenty of excellent apps that you can download that have features that your built-in voice recording app might not.

Read more
Watch the Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max face off in brutal drop test
samsung galaxy s23 ultra iphone 14 pro max drop test watch phonebuff

Samsung’s latest flagship, the Galaxy S23 Ultra, is one of the year's best phones. It comes equipped with the powerful new, purpose-build Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip, a 200MP main camera, and Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back of the device (which means heavy durability).

But there’s another question — how does Gorilla Glass Victus 2 hold up against Apple’s confidently-named 'Ceramic Shield' on the iPhone 14 Pro Max? YouTuber PhoneBuff did a drop test to find that very answer.

Read more
Your Google One plan just got 2 big security updates to keep you safe online
Two Google Pixel 7 Pro smartphones.

Google just added some major new security features to keep its Google One subscribers safe while on the web. After all, the internet is where you spend a lot of your time, whether that's looking things up, paying bills, shopping, booking appointments, or sharing photos with family and friends. That’s a lot of information, and Google wants to keep subscribers safe from the darker side of the web.

Regardless of whether you use an iPhone or an Android smartphone, all Google One subscribers are getting the following two security features.
VPN by Google One for everyone

Read more