Introduction
Email notifications are pretty useful as they ensure you don't accidentally miss any messages that may be important to you. Despite being useful, notifications can also be annoying sometimes, especially from email threads you never read. Email replies in threads only clutter your inbox and cause distraction.
Luckily, Gmail offers a handy feature to mute email conversations so that you aren't notified of any new replies. In this article, we'll explain what Mute means in Gmail, what it does, and how you can mute and unmute annoying and unwanted email threads. We'll also be clarifying the difference between archive and mute and when to use which.
What Does Mute Do in Gmail?
Are you CC'd on active email threads and tired of getting notified of new replies in the conversation? Blocking the emails is not the solution if you want to keep the emails for future reference. What you can do instead is "mute" the conversation so that you still receive the messages but not in your inbox where they can be distracting.
Note: You cannot mute messages directly sent to you. This option is for group email conversations where you're not the main recipient.
When you mute an email conversation, here's what happens:
- The email thread is removed from your inbox.
- You won't receive new replies from that email thread in your inbox unless it is directly sent to you.
- Muted emails don't get deleted from your account; they are still accessible. They just won't show up in your inbox.
Archive vs Mute. What's the Difference?
Both the Gmail archive and mute features hide the email from your inbox. However, they are used for distinct purposes and have differences in how they work.
When you archive an email in your inbox, it is moved to the "All Mail" folder. When you receive a reply in the thread, Gmail will unarchive the email conversation and move it back to the inbox.
Learn more about the Gmail archive feature here.
Similarly, muting an email conversation also moves it to the "All Mail" folder, but new replies in the thread will not move it back to the inbox.
Wondering how to decide whether to archive or mute an email?
- Archive an email when you need to temporarily remove it from your inbox but reappear when a reply is received.
- Mute an email thread when you don't want to be notified of any new replies but don't want to delete the conversation either e.g. a group chat.
How to Mute Emails in Gmail?
In this section, we'll explain how to mute emails on both the Gmail desktop and mobile app.
On Desktop
- Go to Gmail and open the email conversation you want to mute.
- Click on the three-dot menu at the top
- Select the "Mute" option from the list.
You can also use the keyboard shortcut "m" to mute the email.
The email conversation is now muted and removed from the inbox. All future emails in the muted thread will skip the inbox and you will not be notified of them unless you are included in the "To" field of the email.
On Mobile (Android, iOS)
- Open the Gmail app.
- Open the email thread you want to mute.
- Click on the three-dot menu at the top right corner and select "Mute" from the dropdown.
How to Mute Multiple Emails in Gmail?
If you want to mute multiple emails in Gmail, you don't have to repeat the process discussed in the previous section for each email. Gmail allows you to mute multiple emails at once. Just select all the emails you want to mute, click on the three-dot menu at the top, and click "Mute".
How to Find Muted Emails in Gmail?
Muted emails skip the inbox but are still accessible from your account. They are moved to the All Mail folder.
Typing is:muted in the Gmail search bar will return all muted emails.
How to Unmute Emails in Gmail?
To unmute an email, you first need to find it. Type is:muted in the Gmail search bar to find all muted emails.
Select the email conversation you want to unmute. Click on the three-dot menu at the top and select "Unmute" from the dropdown menu.
When you unmute an email conversation, it isn't moved to the inbox unless a new email is received in the thread. If you want to unmute an email thread and also move it to the inbox at the same time, right-click on the selected emails, click "Move to" and select "Inbox" from the dropdown menu.
Conclusion
No need to turn off all notifications on Gmail just because of one annoying group thread—just mute the conversation instead. Gmail's Mute feature helps you declutter your inbox and eliminates distractions caused by constant reply notifications.
Worried you might miss an important message because you muted the thread? Gmail automatically unmutes it if you're a primary recipient in a reply. So next time you start losing focus because of a group conversation, mute it and stay focused like a pro!
