The Outlook iOS App Makes It a Breeze to Delete Emails With a Swipe

You can delete emails without having to open them

Swipe to Delete in Outlook for iOS
Swipe to Delete in Outlook for iOS. Microsoft, Inc.
by Heinz Tschabitscher
An independent writer who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated September 13, 2018

If you often have a cluttered Inbox, deleting emails is the best way to clean up. You can quickly delete emails from your iPhone or iPad Outlook app with a simple swipe motion.

Swiping to delete is a popular method to delete emails since you don't have to load any menus or tap anything; you can just swipe left or right to instantly send the emails to the trash, and you don't even need to open the messages to do this.

By default, however, the Outlook for iOS app will archive instead of deleting your email. Follow our guide below to learn how to change archive to delete, and see other ways you can remove emails individually or in bulk.

How to Delete Emails in Outlook

There are a few different ways to remove emails with the Outlook app:

Delete Individual Emails

  1. Tap-and-hold on the email from the main list of messages. Keep tapping others if you want to remove more than one.

  2. Choose the trash icon from the bottom menu to quickly delete the email(s).

If the email is already open to the message, just tap the garbage icon from the top of the email to send it to the trash.

Swipe to Delete Emails

By default, Outlook for iOS will archive emails that you swipe to the left. Here's how to change that setting:

  1. Tap the three-lined menu button on the top-left side of the Outlook app.

  2. Choose the settings button from the bottom of the left menu.

  3. Scroll down to the Mail section and tap on the Swipe Options item.

  4. Tap the bottom option called Archive to see a new menu of options.

  5. Select Delete.

  6. Use the top-left menu to return to your emails.

  7. Now, you can just swipe left on every email you want to swiftly delete. You can keep doing this for any email in your account, in any folder, as many times as you like to immediately send them to the trash.

Need to Recover a Deleted Email?

With swipe deletion enabled, it can be easy to accidentally remove emails that you intended to keep. Here's how to get them back:

  1. Tap the menu icon at the top of the Outlook app.

  2. Find your Trash or Deleted Items folder and then locate the email you need to restore.

  3. Open the message and use the menu from the top of the email to find a new menu; use the Move option to relocate the email and place it somewhere safe like in the Inbox folder.