Judy Rickard
Original Poster
Apr 11, 2019

how can i delete more than 50 items at a time? I have 40000 or more emails to delete

I want to delete thousands of emails, but going page by page will take forever. Any tips on how to clear out a complete inbox of promotions or social?
Details
Composing and Sending Messages
Locked
Informational notification.
This question is locked and replying has been disabled.
Community content may not be verified or up-to-date. Learn more.
All Replies (18)
Google user
Apr 11, 2019
Delete multiple messages
  1. On your computer, go to Gmail.
  2. Check the boxes to the left of the messages.
  3. At the top, click Delete .
Delete all messages in a category
  1. On your computer, go to Gmail.
  2. In the top left, check the box to select all messages. If you have over one page of messages, click Select all conversations.
  3. At the top, click Delete .
icantchooseone
Diamond Product Expert
.
May 15, 2019
Last edited May 29, 2019
Patricia Doyle
May 21, 2019
when you click the box to delete the 50 or 100 on the page look at the middle top of the page and there in blue it says delete all 6724 emails in inbox. click that and it will delete all at one time
Nicole H2
May 27, 2019
While this used to work and the "Select all messages" used to appear if I selected all messages in a label, this does not seem to be functioning for me.  It seems to only work sporadically.  I have over 2000 messages.
 * SOLVED *
  Any Label that starts with _  like _STUFF (so it appears at the top) will not show the Delete All banner. But my other labels will.   Bug or feature?
Last edited May 27, 2019
icantchooseone
Diamond Product Expert
.
May 28, 2019
 
mine do show it 
 
    try some basic troubleshooting things  :  
 
press F5 to refresh gmail  
 
if still no good :   log out of gmail. Clear your browser's cache and cookies  >> https://gmail-issues.blogspot.co.za/2017/08/clearing-cache.html
 
update your browser to the latest version. close and re launch your browser. log into gmail here    https://mail.google.com  
 
if still no good :   Try disabling any browser extensions and starting the browser again ( also try incognito / private browsing / safe mode / reset firefox )
 
Try starting GMail without any labs you might have enabled (use https://mail.google.com/mail/?labs=0 to do that)
 
Temporarily disable your anti virus  ( and firewall )
 
Try another browser to see if the behaviour persists
 
Try another computer to see if the behaviour persists
 
Try another internet provider
 
If you use a router try bypass it and 'go direct to the wall'
 

some people have even reported that SHUTTING DOWN   their pc ( NOT just restarting it ) or changing their themes fixes some issues , and also try changing your zoom levels :   hold down control and press + a few times to enlarge hold down control and press - ( minus )   a few times to reduce hold down control and press zero to reset ( on a Mac use Cmd instead of Ctrl )
 
  and some people have even reported that removing their signature fixes some issues
 
  turning off/on  hardware acceleration in your browser may also help  >> http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/53337/disable-hardware-acceleration-in-mozilla-firefox-chrome-and-internet-explorer/  
 
you may need to disable plain text:    
  1. Click Compose.
  2. Click More options More options drop-down arrow.
  3. Deselect "Plain text mode."
  if still no good run a full antivirus scan . and the following free tools can be used to try and clean a computer infected with adware/malware that may not be cleaned by the typical anti-virus program.  
 
LavaSoft Ad-Aware - http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
 
 
 

final option  - backup your bookmarks and uninstall the browser and download a fresh copy
 
Smitha Srinivas
May 31, 2019
Omg ☝🏽 Is a lot.
Jerry Winnicki
Sep 5, 2019
There is a way to delete multiple emails all at once. I deleted 33,000 emails down to 18,000 emails in seconds. Here is the command to use.
Older_than:2y
Type this command in the search box while in your gmail account.
Click the box or use the drop down box to click All.
On the right side of the page, it will ask "Select all conversations, meaning emails".
Click on Select and in seconds you will delete thousands of emails you don't need.
Way better than trying to spend hours deleting 50 at a time.
This command give the instruction to delete emails older than 2 years.
You can use 1 or 2 or 3 years.
Soraya.Lashley
Dec 4, 2019
This was so helpful. thank you. I have been trying for years to delete emails all at once.
marlin_spike
Dec 6, 2019
I struggled with this, but it's actually simple: 
1) select the box at top left. This will highlight 50 gmails in your tab
2) now look at the top center of the page just above your tabs. You should see highlighted, writing that reads "Select all xxxxxx messages in….(whatever tab you're in)" Note that this option was *not* available until you selected the box in upper left!!
3)click that highlighted tab!
4) hit "delete" (the trash can)
5) so satisfying!!
Last edited Dec 6, 2019
Karl 2400
Dec 22, 2019
As a note of caution, move your latest/want to keep emails to a folder, say Inbox2 under Inbox before you delete all your emails.  You can delete your empty Inbox folder then rename your Inbox2 folder to Inbox  after the delete   Because your successful all delete will delete all your emails in the Inbox   Like it did mine
Shawn Sagady
Dec 30, 2019
Patrick Doyle thank you for the correct answer!

"when you click the box to delete the 50 or 100 on the page look at the middle top of the page and there in blue it says delete all 6724 emails in inbox. click that and it will delete all at one time"
Amanda Fisher 423
Jan 20, 2020
Thanks Patricia Doyle!
Neil Cross
Jan 24, 2020
i had over 7,000 and i had to do 50 at a time.  i got down to about 4,500 and at the top of the page it asked me if i wanted to do a bulk delete   so i guess its hit or miss
Last edited Jan 24, 2020
false
9440088988172665078
true
Search Help Center
true
true
true
true
true
17
Search
Clear search
Close search
Main menu
false
false