If you’re a Gmail user, you know that deleting folders is a common way to clean up your account. But what if you want to delete a folder but don’t know how? Here’s how to delete folders in Gmail:
- Open Gmail and sign in.
- Click on the three lines in the top left corner of the main screen (the one with the green arrow).
- Choose “Deleting items from this folder.”
- Type the name of the folder you want to delete and hit “Delete.”
Gmail’s folders (also known as labels) let you put relevant emails together. If you don’t need one or more of these folders, it’s easy to delete them from Gmail’s web, iPhone, and iPad versions. We’ll show you how to do just that.
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What to Know Before Deleting Gmail Folders
When you delete a folder, Gmail removes that folder but all your emails that were in that folder are retained. Know that once you remove a folder, you can’t restore it, but you can create a new folder from scratch if you want.
Before you begin with the folder removal process, if you want to delete all your emails that are in that folder, find and delete all those emails first. Then proceed to the section below to delete the folder itself.
Remove a Folder (Label) From Gmail’s Web Version
On your desktop computer, like Windows, Mac, Linux, or Chromebook, use the Gmail website to delete your email folders.
To start, launch a web browser on your computer and open Gmail. Log in to your account if you haven’t already.
On Gmail’s main interface, in the sidebar on the left, find the folder to delete. Then hover over that folder and click the three dots.
From the menu that opens after clicking the three dots, choose “Remove Label.”
In the “Remove Label” prompt, click “Delete.”
And that’s it. Gmail will delete the selected folder from your account, but remember that the emails that were in that folder still exist in your account if you haven’t manually removed them.
RELATED: How to Delete All Emails in Gmail
Delete a Folder (Label) Using Gmail’s iPhone or iPad App
To get rid of a folder using your iPhone or iPad, first, launch the Gmail app on your phone. In the app’s top-left corner, tap the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines).
Scroll down the menu that opens to the bottom. There, tap “Settings.”
In “Settings,” select your Gmail account.
Scroll down the account page and tap “Label Settings.”
On the “Label Settings” page that opens, tap the folder (label) to remove.
On the folder page, tap “Delete [Folder Name].”
Select “Delete” in the prompt.
Gmail will delete the chosen email folder from your account, and you’re all set.
RELATED: How to Create a New Folder in Gmail
