Gmail: Empty trash - how it works

Unwanted emails end up in Gmail with one click in the trash. However, this does not completely delete them. To remove these mails properly, you need to empty the Gmail trash.

Also with Gmail, an empty recycle bin is a good recycle bin.

How to do it: Empty recycle bin in Gmail

An empty recycle bin has an important advantage: you save valuable storage space. To empty the Gmail recycle bin in the browser, proceed as follows:

1. Call up your Gmail account.
2. Left in the menu bar, you will be shown various categories. Scroll down a bit here and click "More".
3. Now you will find "Trash". Call the menu, you can select and delete individual mails. Alternatively, click on "Empty Trash now" at the top to permanently delete all contained emails.

Delete emails permanently in the app

All messages that have been in the trash for more than 30 days are automatically deleted. Still, there's nothing wrong with manually tidying things up every now and then, because a lot of mails can accumulate in 30 days. Proceed as follows:

1. Click on the left in the navigation of Gmail on "More" to see more options.
2. Open the "Trash".
3. Click above the first mail on the blue link "Empty Trash now".
4. There will be a prompt telling you how many mails will be deleted by emptying. Confirm with "Ok".

The recycle bin is then empty and at the bottom you can see that some space has become free. Especially with email addresses that have been used for many years, so many new mails come in every day that it is worth emptying the trash more often.