Need to delete, mark read or move a big bunch of unread messages quickly? Find out here how to select all unread emails in Gmail at once—and act on them, of course, to delete in bulk, for instance.
First, Awake or Sweet: Pick One
When adenosine receptors are activated, sweet tastes even sweeter. While caffeine keeps you awake, it meddles with those adenosine receptors: it blocks their activation. You are awake then—to life’s appalling lack of sweetness.
Now, if it is all those unread emails in Gmail that keep you awake, you can make the whole lot disappear quickly. Sweet, is it not?
Let’s get started!
How to Select All Unread Emails in Gmail
Time needed: 3 minutes
To select and act on all unread emails in Gmail, no matter in what label or folder they may hide:
- Open Gmail’s desktop version in a browser.
Mobile: You can also open Gmail’s full version in a mobile browser.
- Click in the Search mail field at the top.
Gmail keyboard shortcut: With Gmail keyboard shortcuts enabled, you can also press
/. - Type
is:unread in:anywhere.Auto-complete: You can use the down arrow to select Gmail auto-complete entries for the two terms after typing
is:andin:respectively. After highlighting the desired completion, just keep typing to add more.
Copy and paste: See below for the search term to copy swiftly.
Gmail link: You can also open https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search… directly to find all unread emails.
- Press Enter.
- Now click the Select button in the toolbar.
Keyboard shortcut: The corresponding Gmail keyboard shortcut here is
*a.
- Click Select all conversation that match this search if Gmail displays it at the top.
Note: This means more emails than fit on one page of Gmail search results are unread. Clicking makes sure all these emails are selected, not just those you see listed on the first page.
- Act on all unread emails in bulk.
Delete: Click Delete in the toolbar; with Gmail keyboard shortcuts enabled, press #.
What this does: This will move all unread emails to the Trash label. From there, they will be permanently deleted after 30 days; you can also empty the Gmail Trash manually, though.
Mark read: To mark all as read, click the Mark as read button in the toolbar or press Shift I.
Archive: To mark the emails read and move them to the Gmail Archive, click the Archive button or press E.
Select All Unread Messages in the Gmail Inbox
For your Gmail inbox alone, you can also use sorting to get a quick overview of unread mail and select the lot:
- Click the Settings gear icon in Gmail.
- Select Unread first for Inbox type.
- Close the Quick settings pane.
- In your Gmail Inbox, collapse Everything else so it does not display any messages.
- Expand the Unread section.
- Click the Select checkbox in the column header to select all unread emails shown.
Important: This will only select the unread emails in your Gmail inbox that are currently visible; see right below for selecting all unread messages.
To select all unread messages from your Gmail Inbox:
- Click the three dots Inbox section options menu button for Unread in your Gmail Inbox.
- Select Show more messages from the menu that appears.
Here’s why: This will show all (and only) unread messages in the inbox.
- Click the Select header to select all visible messages.
- Now click Select all ___ conversations in Unread to select all.
How to Select All Unread Emails in Gmail: FAQ
Can I use simple HTML Gmail for that?
No, there is no straightforward way to delete unread messages in bulk using simple HTML Gmail.
While you can find all unread messages using is:unread in:anywhere, there is, alas, no easy method to select all messages matching the search criteria and act on them.
Do you have the search term to select all unread in Gmail to copy and paste?
Sure, to find unread messages across all of Gmail (except Trash and Spam), copy and paste the following search term:
Can I select all unread emails in the Gmail App for Android or iPhone?
No, there is, alas, no uncomplicated way to mass-select unread emails in the Gmail apps for Android and iOS.
While you can search for all unread messages using is:unread in:anywhere, you cannot easily select and act on all messages in one go.
Instead of using the Gmail app, you can do the following:
- Open Gmail desktop version in your mobile browser.
- Select or delete all unread emails using the steps above.
(How to select all unread emails tested with Gmail in a desktop browser; updated November 2023)