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Gmail doesn’t use traditional folders. It uses labels, which work like folder-like tags: a message can have more than one. To move a message out of your Inbox and into a label, select it and choose Move to. To keep it in your Inbox while organizing it, apply a label instead.

Folders and labels in Gmail

A Gmail label is not a separate copy of a message. The same email can appear under several labels, such as Clients and Taxes. Removing a label does not delete the message; deleting the message removes it from its labels and moves it to Trash.

Choose the action that matches what you want:

  • Label: Adds an organizational tag. The message can remain in the Inbox.
  • Move to: Applies the destination label and removes the message from its current location, such as the Inbox.
  • Archive: Removes the Inbox label without assigning a custom label. The message remains in All Mail.
  • Delete: Sends the message to Trash. Gmail automatically deletes messages in Trash after 30 days.

For details, see Google’s guides to Gmail labels and organizing and archiving email.

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Create a folder-like label on a computer

  1. Open Gmail.
  2. In the left sidebar, beside Labels, select Create new label. If the sidebar is collapsed, expand it first.
  3. Enter a name, such as Receipts, Travel or Clients.
  4. To make it a sub-label, select Nest label under and choose its parent label.
  5. Select Create.

For example, you can nest Acme beneath Clients. Nested labels look like a folder hierarchy, but messages can still carry multiple labels. Google’s help page says a Gmail account can have up to 5,000 labels.

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Move messages to a label on a computer

  1. In Gmail, select the checkbox beside each message you want to move.
  2. Select Move to in the toolbar.
  3. Choose the destination label. If it is not listed, search for it in the menu or create it first.

The messages should appear under the chosen label and no longer in the Inbox when the move removes their Inbox label. Gmail’s toolbar guide explains the available message actions.

Move several matching messages at once

Search for the messages first—for example, by sender, subject or a phrase. Select the individual results you want, or use the checkbox above the results to select the messages on the current page. Gmail may then offer an option to select all conversations matching the search. Use that additional option only if you intend to affect every matching conversation, not just the visible page.

Apply a label but leave messages in the Inbox

  1. Select the message or messages.
  2. Select the Labels button in the toolbar.
  3. Check the label you want. Leave Inbox selected if the messages should remain there.
  4. Apply or save the change if prompted.

Applying a label and moving a message are different actions: if the email remains in the Inbox, use Move to or remove its Inbox label when you want it filed out of the Inbox.

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Move messages in the Gmail app

The menu labels differ between Android and iPhone or iPad, so use the instructions for your device.

Android

  1. In the Gmail app, touch and hold a message. Select additional messages if needed.
  2. Tap More (the three-dot menu).
  3. Tap Move to, then choose the destination label.

To add a label without moving the message out of the Inbox, choose More → Label as, select a label and tap OK.

To create a label in the app, tap Menu, then under All labels tap Create label. Enter a name and tap Save.

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iPhone and iPad

  1. In the Gmail app, touch and hold a message. Select more messages if you want to move several.
  2. Tap More.
  3. Tap Change labels, uncheck the current label if needed, select the destination label and tap Done.

To apply a label without removing the message from the Inbox, choose More → Labels, select the labels and tap Done.

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To create a label, tap Menu, then under Labels tap Create new. Enter a name and tap Save.

Google’s instructions for Android and iPhone and iPad provide platform-specific label steps. Menu wording can vary with app version, account and language.

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Automatically move future messages with a filter

If the same kind of email arrives repeatedly, create a filter in Gmail on a computer. For example, you could label receipts from a particular sender and keep them out of the Inbox.

  1. In Gmail’s search box, select Show search options.
  2. Enter criteria such as the sender, recipient, subject, words included or excluded, or whether the message has an attachment.
  3. Optionally select Search to check which messages match.
  4. Select Create filter.
  5. Choose Apply the label and select your destination label.
  6. To keep matching messages out of the Inbox, also select Skip the Inbox (Archive it).
  7. Select Create filter.

You can also choose other actions, such as marking messages as read or starring them. Filters act on messages that meet their criteria; don’t assume a new filter will automatically reorganize all older matching mail. Replies are filtered only if they meet the filter’s criteria. For the full workflow, see Google’s guide to Gmail filters.

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Google’s iPhone and iPad help also describes an in-app option for automatically labeling new messages: Menu → Settings → Inbox customizations → Labels, choose a label and tap Add, enter criteria and tap Save. For more advanced rules, use the desktop filter controls.

Find or restore a moved message

  • Open its label: Select the label in the left sidebar. If you cannot see it, select More or make the label visible in settings.
  • Search for a label: Enter a query such as label:receipts in Gmail’s search box. Use the label name in place of receipts.
  • Find archived mail: Search in:archive or open All Mail. An archived message is not in the Inbox, but it has not been deleted.
  • Return a message to the Inbox: Find and select it, then choose Move to Inbox. For a custom-labeled message, you can also move it to Inbox or add the Inbox label while retaining its other label, depending on how you want it organized.
  • Check other locations: If it still seems missing, search by sender, subject or a distinctive phrase, and check Spam and Trash.

If a label exists but does not appear in the sidebar on a computer, open Settings → See all settings → Labels, then choose Show beside the label. The sidebar may also hide system labels under More.

Common points of confusion

  • The message is still in the Inbox: You may have applied a label rather than moved it. Use Move to if it should leave the Inbox.
  • The message is not under the label: Confirm that you selected the intended label, then search by sender or subject. Also check whether you archived, deleted or reported it as spam instead.
  • A reply does not get the same treatment: A filter applies to replies only when they meet its conditions. With conversation view enabled, labeling can apply to existing messages rather than future replies; with it disabled, labels appear on the specific selected messages. Behavior can depend on conversation settings.
  • You are looking for a custom Inbox tab: Gmail’s built-in categories—such as Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates and Forums—are not custom folders. Use a label for your own filing system. See Google’s category guide.

Work or school accounts may also have administrator-managed classification labels, which are different from ordinary personal labels and can have separate restrictions. See Google’s classification-label information if those controls appear in your account.

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