Have you ever experienced such things as "I can't receive new emails because my Gmail is full!" or "I have thousands of promotional emails..."?

Free storage for Google account is 15GB. This is shared between Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos (Google Official Help). In other words, the more emails accumulate in Gmail, the less space you can use in Drive and Photos.

In this article, we will explain how to efficiently delete unnecessary emails in Gmail in bulk using the "search command (search operator)" based on the information as of February 2026. We will also introduce the differences between PCs and smartphones, as well as common failure points, so please read to the end.

What is Gmail's search command (search operator)?

In addition to regular keywords, you can enter special commands called "search operators" in Gmail's search bar. This allows you to narrow down the emails by specifying detailed conditions.

For example, you can search for "emails from over a year ago," "emails in the promotions tab," and "emails with attachments over 10MB" in one go, which would be difficult to do manually. A list is also available in Google's official help.

In short, ``Just type a spell in the search bar and all the emails you want to delete will come up''.

[Copy and paste OK] 5 search commands to delete unnecessary emails in bulk

From here, we will introduce five search commands that you can actually copy and paste. Just paste it into your Gmail search bar.

1. Delete promotional emails from over 1 year ago

category:promotions older_than:1y

This command displays emails from the Promotions tab that are more than a year old. I get a lot of emails that I no longer read, such as advertising emails and coupon notifications from companies.

2. Delete old promotional emails left unread

is:unread category:promotions older_than:1y

This is the command that was talked about in X. It combines three conditions: "unread," "promotion," and "more than a year ago." It's an email that you don't even read, so it shouldn't be a problem to delete it.

3. Delete only large emails with attachments

has:attachment larger:10M

Actually, the cause of the capacity pressure is old emails with attachments. larger:10M allows you to search only for emails larger than 10MB, so select and delete unnecessary ones. You can also adjust the threshold by changing it to 5M or 20M.

4. Delete emails before a specific date

before:2025/01/01

For people who don't need all the emails from before 2025. The date can be changed freely in YYYY/MM/DD format. You can also specify a period like after:2024/01/01 before:2024/12/31.

5. Delete social notification emails in bulk

category:social older_than:6m

Notification emails from SNS (such as "Mr. 〇〇 liked it") tend to accumulate unremarkably. There is no problem in deleting everything that is more than half a year old.

Batch deletion procedure on PC (5 steps)

We will explain the actual deletion procedure after narrowing down the search using the search command. Please use the browser version of Gmail on your computer.

Step 1:Type the command in the search bar and enter

Step 2:Click the "Select all checkbox" at the top left of the email list

Step 3:You will see a link at the top of the screen that says "Select all threads that match this search criteria", click it.

Step 4:Click the trash can icon (delete button)

Step 5:Press OK on the confirmation dialog

Step 3 is the key. If there are only checkboxes, only the 50 displayed items will be selected. By clicking "Select all threads," you can select thousands or tens of thousands of emails that match the search results at once.

Can't you do it with a smartphone? Mobile version of Gmail limitations

This is an important point. You cannot "select all threads" in the Gmail app on your smartphone. In other words, the search command itself can be used, but the operation of selecting and deleting a large number of emails at once is only available on PC.

The only thing you can do on your smartphone is to delete one search result at a time (or manually select multiple results by tapping the profile icon). If you want to delete thousands of emails, just do it from your PC's browser.

Roughly speaking, we recommend using the following:

  • Batch deletion of thousands of items or more → Choose from the PC browser version of Gmail
  • Deleting a few to dozens of items → OK with smartphone app
  • Check it on the go → Use the search command on your smartphone to check the target, and delete it on your PC when you get home

Two things to do after deleting

Even if you just delete emails, you won't free up space right away. Please remember to do the following two things.

1. Empty the trash can

Deleted emails can simply be moved to the "Trash" and remain there for 30 days. If you want to free up space right away, open the Trash and click "Empty Trash Now."

2. Also check your spam folder

There are surprisingly many emails in my spam folder. You can also clear all spam messages in bulk using "Delete junk mail now". Google's official help also recommends emptying the trash and junk mail as the fastest way to free up space.

By the way, you can check the current storage usage on the Google One storage management page. You can see at a glance the usage of Gmail, Drive, and Photos, so compare them before and after deleting them.

Common mistakes and precautions

Although bulk deletion is convenient, please note the following points.

Even important emails are deleted

If you delete all of the results narrowed down by the search command without carefully checking them, there is a risk that important emails will also be involved. Especially when specifying a date using before:, scroll briefly to check the contents before deleting.

Cannot be restored if completely deleted from the trash can

You cannot restore after emptying the Trash. It will remain in the trash for 30 days, so if you are concerned, we recommend that you do not empty the trash and set up a 30-day "wait and see" period.

If you feel that the capacity is not decreasing

Even if you delete something, the storage display may not be reflected immediately. It may take several hours to up to 24 hours for the changes to be reflected, so don't be impatient.

FAQ

Can I use search commands in combination?

Yes, you can. For example, you can list multiple conditions separated by spaces, such as from:example@gmail.com older_than:6m has:attachment. All conditions are applied AND.

Can I restore deleted emails?

Emails that have been in the trash can be restored within the last 30 days. Open the Trash, select the email you want to restore, and select "Move to Inbox". However, it cannot be restored after the trash is emptied or after 30 days have passed.

What happens if you change "1y" in older_than:1y?

d means day, m means month, and y means year. For example, older_than:3m will search for emails older than 3 months, and older_than:30d will search for emails older than 30 days.

What happens if I exceed the 15GB free storage capacity?

If you exceed the capacity, you may not be able to receive new emails. Also, according to Google's official help, content may be deleted if the excess status continues for more than two years. We recommend periodic organization.

Do I need to delete it if I switch to a paid plan for Google One?

If you subscribe to Google One, you can increase your storage capacity starting from 250 yen per month (100GB plan). However, it won't solve the problem of unnecessary email accumulation, so it's best to use it in conjunction with regular organization.

References