Change your Gmail inbox layout

Customize your inbox, including multiple inboxes.

Choose your inbox layout

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app .
2. In the top left, tap Menu Settings .
3. Choose your account.
4. Under "Inbox," tap Inbox type.
5. Select an inbox layout:
   • Default Inbox
   • Important first
   • Unread first
   • Starred first
   • Priority Inbox

Learn about the inbox layout options

Some inbox styles have more settings and options you can change.

Default inbox

If you choose "Default," your inbox will be split up into different sections in the Menu , like "Primary," "Social," "Promotions," and "Updates." When you have the "Default" inbox, your messages are automatically sorted into tabs, but you can move messages among categories if you want.

Learn more about inbox tabs & categories.

Important first

If you choose "Important first," your inbox will be separated into two sections: "Inbox" and "Important."

Learn more how Gmail decides which emails to mark as important.

Unread first

If you choose "Unread first," your inbox will be split up into two sections: "Inbox" and "Unread."

Starred first

If you choose "Starred first," your inbox will be split up into two sections: "Inbox" and "Starred."

Priority inbox

If you choose "Priority Inbox" your inbox will be separated into multiple sections. You can choose which sections you want to show, including "Inbox," "Important and unread," "Starred," or a label you made.

Hide or show list of inboxes & labels

You can find all your inboxes and labels in the left-hand menu. When the left-hand menu is hidden, you’ll have more space for your emails and can point to the menu for more options.

To show or hide the menu, tap Menu .