Free tool, no signup
Free Gmail mass delete search builder
Pick what to clear, such as old promotions or big attachments, and get the Gmail search that selects all of it.
Your Gmail search
in:inbox category:promotions older_than:1y -is:starred -is:important
It finds: Emails in your inbox in the Promotions tab, older than one year, leaving out anything starred or marked important.
in:inboxOnly mail in the inbox.category:promotionsOnly the Promotions tab.older_than:1yReceived older than one year.-is:starredLeaves out starred mail.-is:importantLeaves out mail marked important.
Then, in Gmail on a computer:
- 1Open the search in Gmail on a computer.
- 2Tick the select box at the top left of the list, then click the link above the list that selects every conversation matching the search.
- 3Click Delete. The mail moves to Trash, where it stays for 30 days, then empty the Trash to get the space back.
This tool handles one email. Batmail handles the rest.
Continue with GoogleHow to use it
Here is how to clear thousands of emails in a few clicks.
The search updates with every choice. Nothing is deleted until you press Delete in Gmail yourself.
- Choose where to look and what to clear: a tab such as Promotions, an age, a size, a sender or a phrase.
- Keep starred and important mail out of the search unless you really mean to delete it. Both boxes start ticked.
- Press Open in Gmail, or copy the search into the Gmail search box on a computer.
- Tick the select box at the top left of the list, then click the link above the list that selects every conversation matching the search, not only the ones on the page.
- Click Delete. The mail moves to Trash, and Google's help page says it stays there for 30 days before it is gone for good.
One search, part by part
in:inbox category:promotions older_than:1y -is:starred -is:important
- 01
in:inbox
Only mail in the inbox.
- 02
category:promotions
Only the Promotions tab.
- 03
older_than:1y
Received older than one year.
- 04
-is:starred
Leaves out starred mail.
- 05
-is:important
Leaves out mail marked important.
These three searches show what the builder writes.
An overflowing Promotions tab goes in one search.
Ottilie Fenwright never reads shop newsletters and has years of them. She keeps Inbox only, picks the Promotions tab and older than 1 year, and the builder writes in:inbox category:promotions older_than:1y -is:starred -is:important. Gmail finds every promotion more than a year old, and her starred receipts stay where they are.
Big attachments free the most space.
Kasimir Aldercott's storage is nearly full. He picks All mail, no tab, larger than 10 MB and with an attachment, and gets larger:10M has:attachment -is:starred -is:important. Each match is one heavy email, so deleting a few of them frees more space than deleting many small newsletters.
One noisy sender goes without touching the rest.
The team at Hallowmere Print Co still gets alerts from a portal they stopped using. One of them chooses All mail, types the portal's address in the sender box and clears the tab and the age, and the builder writes from:alerts@portal.example -is:starred -is:important. Every one of those alerts goes, wherever it was filed.
What happens after Delete
- Day 0
You click Delete
The mail moves to Trash.
- Days 1 to 30
It waits in Trash
You can still move it back, and it still counts against your storage.
- After day 30
It is gone for good
It cannot be recovered.
These are the mistakes that make a mass delete go wrong.
Only the first page was deleted.
Ticking the select box picks only the conversations shown on the page. Click the link above the list that selects every conversation matching the search, or the rest stay.
Starred and important mail went with the rest.
A search for a whole tab or an age catches everything in it. Leave the two keep boxes ticked so the search skips starred and important mail.
The storage did not go down.
Deleted mail waits in Trash, and Google counts Trash against your storage. Empty it once you are sure, and the space comes back.
The clear-out was tried on a phone.
Google's help page describes selecting every matching conversation in Gmail on a computer. Do the big clear-outs there.
Two other free tools help once the pile is gone.
- The Gmail filter generator keeps the same mail out of your inbox from now on.
- The phishing email checker reads one suspicious email before you delete it or answer it.
Questions
These are the questions people ask.
The answers worth having before, and after, you use the tool.
How do I delete all emails in Gmail at once?
Search for the mail you want gone, or open the inbox or a tab. Tick the select box at the top left of the list, then click the link above the list that selects every conversation, not only the ones on the page. Click Delete. Google's help page describes this for Gmail on a computer.
Where do deleted emails go?
To Trash. Google's help page on deleting messages says they stay there for 30 days, so you can still recover a mistake, and are then deleted for good. Empty the Trash yourself if you want the space back sooner.
Why is my Gmail storage still full after deleting?
Google counts the mail in Spam and Trash against your storage, and every Google Account's storage, up to 15 GB, is shared by Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos, according to Google's storage help page. Empty the Trash, and check Drive and Photos if the number barely moves.
Will this delete starred or important emails?
Not with the settings it starts with. The search leaves out starred mail and mail Gmail marked as important. Untick those two boxes only if you want them gone too.
Can I delete emails older than a date?
Yes. Pick an age, such as older than 1 year, or type a date in the before box. The builder writes older_than:1y or before:2025/01/31, both of them on Google's own list of Gmail search operators.
Does the tool see my emails?
No. It writes a search and nothing else. The search runs in your own Gmail, and nothing you type here leaves your browser.
This tool handles one email. Batmail handles the rest.
A mass delete clears the pile once, and then it grows back. Batmail works the new mail every night: plain-English rules archive and label what you would have deleted, and every action is logged with the reason.
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