How to recover deleted emails in Gmail
Most "deleted" Gmail messages are not gone. They are in Trash, archived in All Mail, or moved by a filter. Check these places first, in this order.
Open Trash (under More on the left), tick the emails and click Move to › Inbox. Emails stay in Trash for 30 days. After that, or once Trash is emptied, a personal Gmail account cannot get them back, unless someone deleted them after getting into your account, in which case use Google's message recovery request.
Step 1: Check Trash
- In Gmail on a computer, click More on the left, then Trash.
- Tick the emails you want back. Use the search bar to find them:
in:trash from:name. - Click Move to and choose Inbox.
In the app: open the menu, tap Trash, open the email, tap the three dots and choose Move to.
Step 2: The email may not be deleted at all
- Archived: search
in:anywhereplus a word from the email. This covers All Mail, Spam and Trash together. - Spam: open the Spam folder. Spam is also emptied after 30 days.
- Filters: a rule may be archiving or deleting mail. Check Settings › See all settings › Filters and Blocked Addresses.
- Forwarding: check Settings › Forwarding and POP/IMAP for forwarding you did not set up, or a POP setting that removes mail.
- Another app: a phone mail app connected to Gmail can delete mail everywhere.
- Storage full: if your 15 GB is full, new mail cannot arrive.
After 30 days: what is still possible
| Situation | Can it be recovered? |
|---|---|
| Personal Gmail, Trash emptied or 30 days passed | Google says the messages cannot be recovered. |
| Someone else got into your account and deleted mail | Secure the account, then use Google's Gmail message recovery request. Not guaranteed. |
| Work or school (Google Workspace) account | Your admin can restore mail for up to 25 days after it was permanently deleted. |
| You used a mail app with POP or a backup | Check that app or backup. It may still have a copy. |
If someone else deleted your emails
- Change your password and turn on 2-Step Verification.
- Check Security › Your devices in your Google Account and sign out of devices you do not recognize.
- Check filters and forwarding (Step 2) and remove anything you did not create.
- Then submit the message recovery request from Google's help page.
See also how to check if your email was in a data breach.
Questions people ask
- How long do deleted emails stay in Gmail Trash?
- 30 days. After that Gmail deletes them permanently.
- Can I recover permanently deleted Gmail emails?
- For a personal account, generally no. The exception is mail deleted by someone who got into your account without permission, where Google offers a recovery request. Workspace admins can restore for 25 days after permanent deletion.
- Can I recover deleted drafts?
- No. Google says deleted drafts cannot be recovered from Trash.
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