Delete and recover emails in Mail on iPod touch

In the Mail app , you can delete or archive emails you no longer need. If you change your mind, you can recover deleted emails.

Delete emails

There are multiple ways to delete emails. Do any of the following:

While viewing an email: Tap , then tap .
While viewing the email list: Swipe an email left, then choose Trash from the menu.
To delete the email in a single gesture, swipe it all the way to the left.
Delete multiple emails at once: While viewing a list of emails, tap Edit, select the emails you want to delete, then tap Trash.
To select multiple emails quickly, swipe down through the checkboxes.

To turn the deletion confirmation on or off, go to Settings > Mail, then turn Ask Before Deleting on or off (below Messages).

Recover a deleted email

Tap in the upper-left corner, then tap an account’s Trash mailbox.
Tap the email you want to recover, then tap .
Tap Move Message, then choose another mailbox.

Archive instead of delete

Instead of deleting emails, you can archive them in the Archive mailbox.

Go to Settings > Mail, then tap Accounts.
Do one of the following:
- If you’re using an iCloud email account: Tap iCloud, tap iCloud again, then tap iCloud Mail.
- If you’re using another email account: Tap your email provider, then tap your email account.
Tap Advanced, then change the destination mailbox for discarded emails to the Archive mailbox.

When this option is turned on, to delete an email instead of archiving it, touch and hold , then tap Trash Message.

Decide how long to keep deleted emails

With some email clients, you can set how long deleted emails stay in the Trash mailbox.

Go to Settings > Mail, then tap Accounts.
Do one of the following:
- If you’re using an iCloud email account: Tap iCloud, tap iCloud again, then tap iCloud Mail.
- If you’re using another email account: Tap your email provider, then tap your email account.
Tap Advanced, then tap Remove.
Select a time interval.

Note: Some email services might override your selection; for example, iCloud doesn’t keep deleted emails longer than 30 days, even if you select Never.

Helpful?

iPod touch User Guide

Delete and recover emails in Mail on iPod touch

Delete emails

Recover a deleted email

Archive instead of delete

Decide how long to keep deleted emails