HT202067: Archive your Gmail messages in the Mail app

Learn about Archive your Gmail messages in the Mail app
pablo__usa

Q: How can I set my iPhone's Mail app to archive an email when I select "Archive Message" and move it to Trash when I press "Delete Message", like in gmail's native web interface?

I'm using the native iPhone's Mail app to read my gmail, whith the accounts set as a normal gmail account (not Exchange).

 

If I go to Settings, Mails, select a gmail account an set "Archive Messages = OFF", then I can only Delete mails, and if I want to archive an email I have to manually move it to the folder I'd like it to be archived in, despite having rules in gmail to label all incoming mails properly. Very inconvenient.

 

On the other hand, if I set it to "Archive Messages = ON", then all emails end up archived in gmail's "All mail" folder, even the ones I decided to delete by pressing the "Delete Message" button. (Very weird behavior!  I just realized this today and have hundreds of mails I thought were deleted mixed with the ones I wanted to archive!)  

The only way to really delete a message (move it to gmail's Trash folder) is to manually move it to the Gmail Trash folder.  Very inconvenient too.

 

For me this is a bug, I'm going to report it to Apple.

 

Have you found a way to make it behave like it shoud ?

iPhone 4S, iOS 6.1

Posted on Mar 17, 2013 9:29 AM

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  • by Allan Sampson,

    Allan Sampson Allan Sampson Mar 17, 2013 9:37 AM in response to pablo__usa
    Level 10 (123,464 points)
    Mar 17, 2013 9:37 AM in response to pablo__usa

    This is not a bug. This has everything to do with Google and Gmail account access with an email client.

     

    Check this link.

     

    http://support.google.com/mail/answer/6576?hl=en

     

    If you don't want email archived by Google's definition and implementation of their archive feature, you need to turn it off.

  • by pablo__usa,

    pablo__usa pablo__usa Mar 17, 2013 9:52 AM in response to Allan Sampson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2013 9:52 AM in response to Allan Sampson

    It used to be that way many years ago, but then Google realized that there are messages you really want deleted, for example unsolicited publicity, unconfortable messages, etc. 

     

    They created the Trash button in gmail's web interface, so now you have the Archive button (that removes the "inbox" label from the message, so it ends up in the All Mail folder and also in the other folders depending on the labels the message has)  and you also have the Trash button (that removes the message from the inbox, place it in Trash, and so the message dosn't appear anymore in the All mail folder).

     

    I guess Apple wanted to do the same when they created the dual  "Archive-Delete" central button in iOS 6 Mail app, but I don't know how to make it behave this way, which I think it's the right way.

  • by Allan Sampson,

    Allan Sampson Allan Sampson Mar 17, 2013 9:57 AM in response to pablo__usa
    Level 10 (123,464 points)
    Mar 17, 2013 9:57 AM in response to pablo__usa

    Gmail's web interface is not the same as accessing an email account with an email client on your computer or with the iPhone, etc. As provided, this has everything to do with Google and Gmail account access with an email client.

     

    The Google labels via webmail access with a browser do not transfer to Gmail account access with an email client.

     

    You may try using Google's app for the iPhone which I believe is a direct link to their webmail interface.