Body
Environment
U-M Google, Gmail
Issue
How do I delete multiple email messages within a given date range or older than a particular date in Gmail?
Resolution
Important: When searching emails, you will need to change the sort option in the top right of the results from "Showing most relevant" to "Showing most recent" to select all emails matching the search. All searches moving forward should honor the last sort option you selected, but always verify to make sure!
To find old emails you may no longer need in a given date range:
- Go to U-M Gmail.
- There are two ways to do this, depending on your goal:
- Find emails older than a specific date
- Enter older:2019-01-01 (or another date) in the Gmail search field at the top of the page and press Enter.
- This will identify emails older than January 1, 2019. You can change this date by adjusting the numbers in the search query.
- Find emails within two specific dates
- Enter after:2020-01-01 and before:2025-01-01 (or other dates) in the Gmail search field at the top of the page and press Enter.
- This will identify emails between January 1, 2020, and January 1, 2025. You can change these dates by adjusting the numbers in the search query.
- Check the checkbox next to the Archive icon in the top toolbar to select all messages on the page.
- If you have more than 100 messages to delete, you can attempt to delete them all at once by clicking Select all conversations that match this search. However, keep in mind that Google often fails to delete more than a few hundred messages at once. We recommend repeating Step 3 multiple times until all messages are deleted.
- Click the trash can icon in the top toolbar to delete all selected results in bulk.
Additional Information
Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.