Gmail has definitely come a long way from just being a replacement for the now-defunct Inbox app. This feature-riched email client from Google comes pre-loaded with tons of useful functionalities. However, it’s the Archive, Mute and Snooze features of Gmail that more often than not confuses some of the users. Well, their functions are near about identical, up to a certain extent, but after that, they are poles apart. In this guide, we will be doing in-depth coverage of the differences between the three. Furthermore, we also are listing the steps regarding how to use these three features and under what scenario. But before that, also check out our guide on how to disable the in-app browser in Gmail.
What is Gmail’s Archive feature?
Similar to Instagram’s archive feature, Gmail’s Archive works pretty along the same lines here. It hides your email from the inbox. But they aren’t deleted. They have just been removed from your inbox tab and moved over to a separate section. If you find any email in Gmail to hold slightly less importance in the pecking order but you still cannot block that email altogether, consider archiving it. The best part about it is that you could unarchive it anytime you want.
However, there are some strings attached. If you have archived any email, but someone replies to it, that email will automatically move over to your Inbox. Moreover, there isn’t any separate section for the Archive emails. With that said, here is how you could archive/unarchive any email in Gmail and access it. On that note, here is our guide on how to send emails as attachments in Gmail
Archiving/Unarchiving Emails in Gmail
- There exists a shortcut to archive any email in Gmail. Just head over to your inbox and perform a right or left swift on that email. it will automatically get archived. Or you could also open the said email and tap on the archive icon (situated left of the Delete icon)
- To view any archived email, open Gmail, tap on the hamburger menu and go to the All mail sections. There you’ll see all your archived email.
- To unarchive any email, open it and tap on the overflow icon and select Move to Inbox.
So this was all from this section. Now that we have discussed the Archive feature, let us check out the Mute and the Snooze feature of Gmail. Also, here is our detailed guide on how to automatically CC or BCC any email ID in Gmail.
Muting Emails in Gmail
Whereas the general notion is that the mute feature will just turn off the notifications, here in Gmail, things are slightly different. In Gmail when you mute any conversation, that entire mail will be removed from your Inbox. Similar to the archive feature, the emails aren’t deleted but moved to a separate section. And as was the case with the former, there isn’t any separate section in Gmail to access these muted emails.
So where’s the difference? Well, it stems from the fact that muted emails don’t get transferred over to your inbox in case an interaction (like a reply) takes place. It will remain in its designated place until you manually act on it. Here is how you could mute, unmute or access any of the muted emails in Gmail. But before that, make yourself aware of the differences between Mute and Block.
Mute vs Block
Well, if you block any user, you won’t receive any email from that user. However, in case of mute, you will continue to receive emails but you won’t be notified for the same. Moreover, these emails won’t clutter your Gmail inbox but will be moved to a separate section. So, consider blocking only in the most extreme scenarios, otherwise Mute feature should more than suffice in general cases.
How to Mute/Unmute Emails in Gmail
- There are two different methods of muting any email in Gmail. The first one involves long-pressing that email > going over to the overflow icon > select Mute. The second method involves opening the said conversation, tapping on the overflow icon and selecting the Mute option.
- To view the muted emails, again there isn’t a separate section. All your muted emails are present under the All Mails section of Gmail.
- Along the same lines, if you wish to unmute any email, just select the Move to Inbox option (similar to how you did it for unarchive).
With that, we conclude this section. So with the Archive and Mute section done, let’s shift our focus towards the Snooze feature of Gmail.
Snooze any Email in Gmail
The snooze feature of Gmail comes in handy when you wish to be notified or reminded of any email at a later date. For example, you have just received an email that there’s going to be an important meet day after tomorrow. In that case, you could snooze this email to make it reappear and notify you on that date and time. Both the read and unread emails could be snoozed in Gmail. Here is how to do so. Likewise, check out the guide to enable the notification snooze feature in Android 10.
How to Snooze emails
- Open the desired email in the Gmail app.
- Tap on the overflow icon and select Snooze.
- You’ll now get a list of time-schedule to choose from. If nothing suits you, tap on the Select date and time and define your own schedule.
What happens when you Snooze emails
As soon as the email is snoozed to a later time, it automatically gets moved from the Inbox to the Snoozed section. Yes, Gmail at least has a separate section for this. Tap on the hamburger icon and then on Snooze. There you’ll find all the snoozed emails.
How to Unsnooze emails in Gmail
To unsnooze any email, head over to the Snooze section, open the desired email and tap on the overflow icon. Now select the Unsnooze option and the email will move back over to your inbox.
So with that, we conclude this guide regarding the differences between Archive, Snooze and Mute feature of Gmail. Do let us know in the comments if you still have any doubts left.
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