How to delete labels in Gmail

Deleting a label in Gmail takes about ten seconds, and it does not delete a single email. A label is a tag on a message, so removing the tag leaves the message exactly where it was. The steps below cover the web, the phone, removing a lot of labels at once, and the one check worth making before you click.

I'm Alec, founder of Gmail Unsubscribe. 104,000+ people have installed it. Most people who arrive here have a sidebar full of old labels from filters and newsletters, and they're worried about losing mail. You won't, and the rest of this page shows why.

What deleting a label does

Gmail labels are tags, not folders. One conversation can carry several at once, which is the whole difference from the folders you may know from Outlook. Gmail labels vs folders goes through that in full.

So when you remove a label:

• The label disappears from the sidebar and from the label chips next to each subject line.
• The emails keep every other label they had. Mail that only carried the deleted label stays in All Mail, and it still turns up in search.
• Mail still in your inbox stays there. Nothing goes to Trash.
• Filters that applied the label stop working properly. Gmail doesn't clean them up for you (see below).
• Sublabels stay, and move to the top level.

Delete a label from the sidebar

As of 2026, on the web:

1. Open Gmail on a computer.
2. Find the label in the left sidebar. If the list is collapsed, click More.
3. Hover over the label and click the three-dot menu.
4. Click Remove label.
5. Click Remove to confirm.

Delete labels from Settings

This is the better route for more than one label, because the whole list is on one screen.

1. Click the gear icon, then See all settings.
2. Open the Labels tab.
3. Scroll to the Labels section.
4. Click Remove next to each label you want gone, and confirm each one.

The same list has Show and Hide links. If you aren't sure you want a label gone for good, hide it from the sidebar first. Nothing is lost by hiding, and you can bring it back with one click.

Delete a label on your phone

The Gmail app is built for applying labels, not managing them. It has no dependable way to remove a label, so use a browser. Open mail.google.com, ideally in desktop view, and follow the steps above. The change syncs to the app on its own.

Check before you delete: filters that use the label

A filter that applies a label is a separate object from the label. Deleting the label doesn't always tidy up the filter, and a filter's other actions, such as Skip the Inbox, can keep running. If that happens, mail from that sender skips your inbox into All Mail with no label to show where it went.

Check them before you finish:

1. Open Settings → See all settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses.
2. Look for filters that say "Apply label" followed by the label you removed.
3. Click edit to change the label, or delete to remove the filter.

If a filter isn't doing what you expect afterwards, Gmail filters not working covers the usual causes.

If you deleted the wrong label

There is no undo. What you can do:

1. Create a new label with the same name (see how to create folders in Gmail).
2. Search for the mail you want back in it. Search by sender, by subject or by date, using All Mail so archived messages show up.
3. Select the results and apply the new label. If you have more than one page of results, click the link that selects every conversation matching the search.

If the label was applied by a filter, a Gmail filter to folder rebuilds that, and Also apply filter to matching conversations relabels the backlog in the same step.

Delete the label, or the mail itself

People often search for how to delete a label when what they want is less mail. These are different jobs:

You want	Do this
A tidier sidebar	Delete or hide the label. The emails stay.
Emails gone from a label	Open the label, select the conversations, then Delete. They go to Trash for 30 days.
Storage back	Delete the mail and empty Trash. See deleting archived emails.
Fewer emails arriving	Unsubscribe from the senders. A label or a filter only moves the pile.

Deleting a label doesn't reduce what comes in. If a label such as Newsletters has grown to thousands of messages, the lists behind it are still sending. Gmail's own Manage subscriptions view is a quick first pass at the frequent senders.

For the rest, our extension scans your inbox, lists every subscription sender in one view, and unsubscribes you from the ones you pick. Our data: the average first scan finds about 15 subscription senders, and roughly a third of unsubscribe attempts hit senders with no working unsubscribe mechanism. Those are the ones to block, because no label or filter stops them.

The free plan covers 25 senders a month, unsubscribed and cleared out, plus unlimited scans. Pro is $35.88/year.

Common questions

Does deleting a label in Gmail delete the emails?

No. A label is a tag on a message, so deleting it removes the tag and leaves the emails alone. Anything that only carried that label stays in All Mail. Anything that is still in your inbox stays in your inbox.

How do I delete a label in Gmail?

On the web, hover the label in the left sidebar, click its three-dot menu, choose Remove label, and confirm. You can also open Settings, See all settings, Labels, and click Remove next to the label.

Can I delete a label in the Gmail app?

Not reliably. The mobile app is built for applying labels rather than managing them, so delete the label on the web at mail.google.com. The change syncs to the app within moments.

What happens to nested labels when I delete the parent?

Deleting a parent label does not delete its sublabels. They are no longer nested, and they move to the top level of the sidebar. Delete each sublabel on its own if you want them all gone.

Can I undo a deleted label in Gmail?

Gmail has no undo for it. You can create a new label with the same name, but it will not carry the old messages back. If you still need the grouping, search first for the mail you want and relabel it.

Why can I not delete some labels, like Inbox or Spam?

Those are system labels: Inbox, Starred, Sent, Drafts, Spam, Trash and the category tabs. You can hide them under Settings, See all settings, Labels, but you cannot delete them.