How to Delete Promotions in Gmail
Promotional emails are marketing messages sent by platforms you are registered with. They usually come from companies you have interacted with or subscribed to. On the other hand, spam refers to unsolicited messages sent in bulk to a random list of recipients, often containing irrelevant or inappropriate content.
In this video, you'll learn how to delete all promotional emails in Gmail using its built-in tools and with the help of the Clean Email app.
How to Clear Promotions in Gmail on the Web
- Log into your account on the web and navigate to the Promotions folder listed in the left-side menu (alternatively, you can click the Promotions tab above your messages).
- In front of each message, you will find a clickable box.
- Tick these boxes in as many emails as you would like to erase and select the Trash bin icon that appears at the top of the list.
How to Delete Promotions in Gmail App
For users who frequently use mobile devices, here’s how to delete all promotions in Gmail on phone in the Gmail mobile app.
- Launch the app. Select the menu bar on the top left corner to navigate to the Promotions category.
- Select Promotions.
- To delete, select promotional emails individually by clicking on their header.
- Select all necessary emails and click the Trash icon on the top bar.
- To delete permanently, select the Bin folder from the left-side menu and empty it.
💡 Note: In the Gmail mobile app, it's not possible to select all emails in the Promotions folder at once. Instead, you're required to select them individually, which can be quite tedious. Hence, for a more efficient process of deleting unwanted emails on the go, we highly recommend using Clean Email.
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How to Delete All Promotional Emails in Gmail with Clean Email
For a more efficient approach to mass-deleting emails in any Gmail category, consider using an email management tool like Clean Email.
The service provides a way to view all emails labeled as 'Promotions'. Simply navigate to the Inbox, click the funnel icon, and apply the 'Promotions' label filter under the Labeled as section.
With this, you can select all the messages (click Select → Select All) and choose to either delete or archive them. For quicker future access, you can add this filter to your sidebar favorites by clicking on the ♡ heart icon. This is how to delete the entire Promotions folder in Gmail, whether you're using a desktop or managing your emails on the go with your smartphone.
The Auto Clean feature can also help you to set your own rules to delete, achieve, move, or label promotional emails once they hit your inbox. This means you can set certain marketing messages to automatically delete themselves as they arrive in your Promotions folder.
You can also utilize the Auto Clean feature to delete or archive emails after a set period of time. Simply select the promotional emails you want to filter and click the Old Mail filter located above the search box, then choose the time period (e.g., Older than 1 year). Next, click the Create Rule button and select Archive under the Apply Action section. Finalize the rule by clicking the Create Rule button again.
📌 Note: While Gmail allows rule creation (a.k.a. filters), Clean Email provides a more flexible solution, enabling you to pause and resume rules without recreating them. Clean Email also features an Action History Summary to review all actions applied to your messages, ensuring you won't miss anything important.
Furthermore, you can leverage the Smart Folders feature to better organize your inbox and facilitate bulk message management. It allows you to swiftly label, move, or delete dozens of similar emails (e.g., ‘Online shopping’ emails or ‘Seasonal sales’) at once, across your inbox, based on the commonalities they share.
For more information, follow our guides on how to delete old emails and how to mass delete emails on Gmail.
How to Move Emails From Primary to Promotions
Gmail comes with pre-set filters that identify which emails go into which tabs i.e., category:promotions. However, this filter is not perfect, and as such, the wrong message can be sent to the Promotions folder. Below is how to move emails from promotions to primary category or vice versa.
- Log into your account on the web.
- Highlight the message you intend to move, right-click on your mouse, and select Move tab.
- On the following screen, just choose the destination for moving the message.
- Once moved, all future emails will be directed to the new tab.
How to Get Rid of Promotions in Gmail Permanently
To permanently get rid of promotions in Gmail, you can opt to unsubscribe from promotional emails or block unwelcome senders.
Unsubscribing from Promotional Emails
If you're looking to unsubscribe from promotional emails in Gmail, the process can be tedious, especially when you're receiving marketing newsletters from a multitude of sources.
Clean Email's Unsubscriber feature offers a seamless solution. It identifies mass mailings and newsletters, allowing you to easily remove yourself from distribution lists. By doing so, you reduce the influx of promotional emails.
Here is how to unsubscribe from promotional emails using Clean Email:
- Navigate to https://app.clean.email/ and sign in with your email credentials.
- On the left-hand side panel, find and click on the Unsubscriber tool.
- Identify the subscriptions you wish to unsubscribe from and click the Unsubscribe button located on the blue action bar at the bottom.
Keep in mind, there are also options to temporarily pause subscriptions, move them to a Read Later folder (to read them at once when you have time for it), or utilize the Keep Newest feature to save only the most recent message from a sender while eliminating older ones.
💡 Note: If for some reason you are not removed from the noted subscription list, the app will still keep messages from the noted domain out of your inbox by blocking them (putting into Trash) on arrival.
Blocking Promotional Emails
In some cases, you might keep getting emails from the same sender although from different email addresses, even after you unsubscribed from their promotional newsletters already. If it happens, blocking the entire domain could help. While Gmail allows you to block senders, sending future messages from them to your Spam folder, this needs to be executed individually for each sender.
On the other hand, Clean Email offers a practical email grouping functionality. This lets you block single senders, multiple senders, or even entire domains as per your choice.
To block a domain with Clean Email, follow these steps:
- Open the app and select Auto Clean from the menu on the left. Then, click on the plus icon at the top.
- Name your new rule and choose Any sender or recipients.
- Open the dropdown list of choices and select Sender Domain. Type the domain you aim to block in the search box below and select it from the suggested list.
- Choose the action you want to be applied to emails from this domain (or domains), such as moving them to the Trash folder. Finally, confirm by clicking the Create Rule button.
How to Add and Remove a Promotions Tab on Gmail
Gmail custom tabs are categorization tabs used to organize messages as they hit your mailbox. With Default inbox type, your mailbox comes with three built-in tabs, which are primary, social, and promotions. These tabs are visible underneath the search bar on your inbox when you are signed in on the web.
Here is how to add and remove tabs.
How to Add Tabs in Gmail
To add tabs, simply follow the instructions below.
- Log into your Gmail account.
- In the top right corner beside your profile image, select the Settings gear icon, then choose See all settings.
- In the next screen, navigate to Inbox.
- Here you will find the tab list on default. Beneath that, you will find the current tab options selected under categories.
- To add, simply tick the box in front of your preferred category. This is how to add a category in Gmail.
How to Remove Promotions Tab in Gmail
- Log into your account.
- Select Settings → See all settings → Inbox.
- Here you will find the tab list. Simply untick the boxes in front of the categories you will no longer need to display.
Recover Accidentally Deleted Emails
Whether you accidentally deleted an important message in your Gmail Promotions tab by mistake or you just deleted an entire thread you meant to reply to, it may not be lost forever. When you delete an email in the inbox folder, it doesn’t just vanish — it goes into the Trash folder for 30 days before deleting itself permanently.
If you go into your Trash, you can click on any message in the trash folder and choose to move it back into your inbox or into any custom tab you’d like. It’s fairly simple as long as you catch your error before Gmail automatically removes the email from your trash after 30 days.
Not sure you have all the right steps in order? We can help you learn more about how to recover deleted emails from Gmail.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Gmail custom tabs are great for sorting your emails into various tabs. However, if you are looking for a more professional email management tool, we recommend using the Clean Email app to make your Gmail inbox clean and free of clutter.
The successful management of promotional emails in your Gmail account involves a strategic blend of the platform's native features and the robust suite provided by Clean Email. Using these tools in a planned way can help you easily delete unwanted promotions, smoothly unsubscribe from many newsletters, block annoying senders, and automatically set up future actions to keep your emails tidy.
For more insights on how to delete multiple emails and how to delete all emails from a sender in Gmail, head back to our blog.
How to Empty Promotions In Gmail - FAQs
Is there a way to delete all promotions in Gmail?
You can delete all promotions in Gmail on the web. Go to the ‘Promotions’ tab, select all emails, and click ‘Delete’. For more than 50 promotions, use the ‘Select all conversations’ option and delete again. However, deleting all promotions at once in the Gmail mobile app isn't possible. This requires manual selection, which can be time-consuming. Fortunately, Clean Email can automate this task, saving you considerable time.
Where is the Promotions tab in Gmail?
On desktop mode, you can find all tabs which include promotions, social, and primary underneath the search tab. On the Gmail mobile app, you will have to select the menu bar at the top left corner to see the various tabs.
How to mass delete promotions in Gmail?
To mass delete promotions in Gmail, you can utilize Clean Email's Auto Clean rules. This allows you to automatically delete specific or all promotional emails after a predetermined period of time.
How do I stop emails from going to Promotions in Gmail?
You can manually move emails from Promotions to Social or Primary categories to ensure all future messages enter the new tab. You can also remove the Promotions tab from settings to stop emails from going to promotions.
How do I delete all categories in Gmail?
On the web, simply select Settings beside the profile image → select ‘See all settings’ → Inbox, and deselect the categories you no longer need. Keep in mind that you can remove all categories except Primary. When others are removed, all emails will go into the Primary category.
How do I add categories to my Gmail inbox?
You cannot add more categories than the in-built categories: primary, forums, social, promotions, and updates. However, you can choose to add or remove any of these categories from tabs. Simply enter Settings → choose ‘See all settings’ → Inbox tab and select or deselect any category you want to appear or disappear.
