Had quite enough of your unread mail count? Looking for a quick way to catch up on a folder full of emails? Find out here how to mark all emails as read on your iPhone with iOS Mail.
First, Rocky Digestion
Surely, you have watched birds snack on seeds, nuts and—stones?
Because birds have no teeth, they cannot chew to help digestion. They can swallow stones and small rocks, however, and keep them in their stomach to grind food there, though. So, they make the most of its nutritional value.
Now, do you have too many unread emails to chew and digest in your inbox? Here’s a sweet metaphorical stone to swallow:
How to Mark All Emails as Read on Your iPhone
Time needed: 2 minutes
To mark all messages as read in an email folder on an iPhone using iOS Mail:
- Open the folder in which you want to mark all emails as read in iPhone Mail.
Mark across folders: You can mark unread across folders using iPhone Mail search, but not in very efficient a manner; see below.
- Tap Edit.
- Now tap Select All in the top left corner.
- Tap Mark.
- Select Mark as Read from the menu that has appeared.
It will mark all: iPhone Mail will mark all messages as read, not only those you see.
Reviewing messages: To see which emails will be marked read more easily, either apply a filter before marking or use search; see below.
Filter for Unread Mail before Marking as Read
To focus on only unread messages in a folder before you mark them all as read in iPhone Mail:
- Go to the folder that contains the messages you want to mark read.
- Tap the filtering button in the lower left corner.
- Now tap Filtered by:.
- Select Unread under INCLUDE.
- Leave everything else unchecked.
- Tap Done.
- Now tap Edit back in the (now filtered) folder.
- Select all emails you want to mark unread.
- Mark all the selected emails as read; see above.
How to Mark All Emails Matching Certain Criteria as Read Using iPhone Search
You can also use iPhone Mail search to focus on a certain kind of email to mark them all as read in bulk:
- Open any email folder in iPhone Mail.
- Scroll up so you see the Search field.
- Tap in that Search field.
- Start typing your search terms.
Examples: Use a sender’s name or email address, for instance, words to appear in the subject field or a date. - Optional: Use iPhone Mail search suggestions.
- Tap search.
No search: If you do not see search, tap in the Search field again. - Choose between All Mailboxes and Current Mailbox.
- Now tap Edit.
- Select all the emails you want to mark read.
Swipe: You can swipe over the checkboxes to quickly select.
No selecting all: You do have to select emails manually in search results; there is no Select All option. - Mark all the checked emails as read; see above.
How to Mark All Emails as Read on Your iPhone: FAQ
Can I mark all emails read in iCloud Mail in a mobile browser?
Not quite.
While you can open iCloud Mail using iCloud.com in Safari or another mobile browser, there is no straightforward way to select and mark all messages (like you can in a desktop browser).
Is there a way to mark all emails read in the Gmail app for iPhone?
No.
There is, alas, no quick way to mark all messages read using the Gmail app for iOS.
You can always resort to the full desktop interface of Gmail (in a mobile browser), of course.
(How to mark all emails as read on an iPhone tested with iOS 15–17; first published January 2022, last updated August 2024)