Tired of deleting emails one by one in your iPhone? Wish you could trash a bunch at once in iOS Mail? Find out here how to delete and erase multiple emails on iPhone (and iPad) almost in one go.
First, the Persons to Appear in a Photograph Sooner
The person to appear in a photo sooner than any other: the first people to show in a photographic images were a shoe-shining boy and the person whose shoes were shone.
For while the boy’s hands (like all the traffic and other people in the streets) moved too rapidly for the long-time exposure, their figures stood still enough. It takes several minutes to take a daguerreotype (the very first practical form of photography) after all.
Now, deleting emails on an iPhone feels like taking a daguerreotype? Turn minutes into seconds and trash any selection of messages super fast:
How to Trash Multiple Emails Fast on an iPhone
Time needed: 1 minute
To select and delete multiple emails quickly in iOS Mail on an iPhone:
- Open the folder that contains the emails you want to delete in Mail for iPhone.
Search: Deleting multiple emails also works with search results and smart folders, of course.
Example: See below for deleting multiple emails from the same sender, for instance. - Tap with two fingers on the first message in the list you want to delete.
- Swipe over the empty circles to add multiple emails to the selection.
More selections: You can select multiple emails on iPhone for deleting quite flexibly.
- Tap Trash.
Without delay: The messages will go to the Trash folder immediately.
Closer to a clean inbox now?
Tips help fuel these email and tech how-tos.
How to Delete All Emails at Once in iPhone Mail
To delete all messages in a folder in one go on an iPhone:
- Open the folder.
Inbox: In the inbox, do show all mail for selecting all mail to work. - Tap Select or Edit.
- Now tap Select All in the top left corner.
- Tap Trash.
Another bulk action: How to Unflag All Emails in iPhone Mail
How to Erase Multiple Emails Fast on an iPhone: FAQ
How can I delete multiple emails from the same sender?
To quickly delete multiple or all emails from a sender in iOS Mail:
- Swipe down in an iPhone Mail folder to reveal the Search field.
- Tap in the Search field.
- Type the sender’s email address over Search.
- Now pick Sender contains <email address>: (or the desired sender’s name or email address) under People in search suggestions.
- Make sure From is selected on top.
- Two-finger tap and select multiple emails as above.
- Tap Trash.
How can I delete multiple emails in the Gmail app?
Selecting and deleting multiple emails in the Gmail app is, alas, a tad more tedious than in the native Mail application.
To delete multiple emails in the Gmail app:
- Tap the avatar or circle in front of the first message you want to delete.
- Now tap all additional emails you want to delete as well.
Tap anywhere: You need not tap the avatar now but can use the message’s subject or preview.
Get them all: Tap Select all to quickly expand the selection to all visible messages. - Happy with your selection, tap the Trash icon in the toolbar on top.
Sure: All selected emails will be moved to the Trash folder without further confirmation.
(Tested with iOS 13–18 and 26; first published August 2020, last updated December 2025)