Have you accidentally swiping an email in Gmail and it is moved to the archive? Well, I’m sure you are not alone. This is a common issue when using Gmail in a touchscreen device.
Previously, I have published a post about how to find archived emails in Gmail. Now I think we have to prevent that problem happens in the future by removing the swipe gesture in Gmail.
Luckily, you can always modify the outcome when an email swiped to the left or right. Check out the following tutorial.
Table of Contents
How to prevent swipe gesture from archiving Gmail
In this guide, I will show you a way to change the swiping outcome in the Gmail app. For the sake of the tutorial, we are going to disable this function altogether so it would prevent accidental swiping in the future.
1. Launch Gmail, and click on the hamburger icon.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Tap General settings.
4. Tap on Swipe actions.
5. Tap Change on Right swipe and Left swipe. We are going to disable these gestures.
6. The swipe function is now disabled.
7. Set to None.
After the swipe gestures have been disabled, you won’t be accidentally archiving your email in Gmail. Instead, it will just show a rubberband effect and does literally nothing.
What is the default swipe action in Gmail?
By default, the Gmail app for iOS and Android uses swipe gestures to archive, delete or mark emails as read/unread. Here’s what each swipe does:
- Right swipe – Archives the email
- Left swipe – Deletes the email
- Two finger right swipe – Marks the email as read
- Two finger left swipe – Marks the email as unread
For many users, the right swipe to archive poses the biggest problem. It’s easy to accidentally brush your thumb against the screen and send an important message straight to the archive.
Alternative swipe actions
If you don’t want to completely disable swiping, Gmail provides other options:
- Delete – Moves email to trash
- Mark as read/unread
- Snooze – Removes from inbox temporarily
- Move to – File email in another folder
- Label – Apply label to email
- Pin – Pins email to top of inbox
- Mark important
- Mute – Mute email thread
- Do nothing
Conclusion
Accidentally swiping emails into your archive is a common problem for Gmail users on iOS and Android. Fortunately, Gmail provides settings to customize swipe gestures and disable swipe to archive.
By turning off right swipe to archive, you can avoid losing track of important emails. While swiping can be useful in some cases, disabling it helps you archive deliberately instead of mindlessly.
With this simple tweak, you can enhance your mobile Gmail experience and keep your inbox organized exactly how you like it.
FAQs
How do I turn off swipe archive in Gmail?
To turn off swipe archive in Gmail, go to Gmail settings, tap on “General settings”, then “Swipe actions”. Here, you can set both “Right swipe” and “Left swipe” to “None”.
How do I turn off archive in Gmail app?
You can’t turn off archive, but you can disable swiping to archive by changing the swipe actions.
How do I change the swipe options in Gmail app?
To change the swipe options in the Gmail app, navigate to Gmail settings, select “General settings”, then “Swipe actions”. Here, you can customize the actions for both “Right swipe” and “Left swipe”.
How do I change swipe from archive to delete on Android?
To change swipe from archive to delete on Android, go to Gmail settings, tap on “General settings”, then “Swipe actions”. Change both “Right swipe” and “Left swipe” to “Delete”.
I hope this guide helps you! Please don’t be hesitate to ask or give feedback about this guide.
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