How to Flag Messages in the iPhone and iPad Mail App

Mark important emails to deal with them when you are ready

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by Heinz Tschabitscher
An independent writer who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated September 29, 2018

A blue dot makes sure that new emails stand out in the Mail app on iPhones and iPads running iOS 11. It lures the eye toward the unread and new. As you work through your Inbox, you might want to identify important emails that you need to get back to as soon as you have the time or the information you need to reply by flagging them. In iPhone Mail, flagging emails takes just seconds.

Flag an Email in the iPhone and iPad Mail Application

To flag an important email in iPhone Mail or iPad Mail in iOS 11:

  1. Open the email in the Mail application.

  2. Tap the Flag icon.

  3. Select Flag from the options that appear. Other options are Mark as Unread, Move to Junk, and Notify Me, which notifies you when someone replies to an email thread.

A flagged email displays an orange dot next to it in the Inbox. You can also find flagged emails in the Mail home screen folder marked "Flagged," which makes it easy to view and act on flagged emails without the distraction of other messages.

Marking Multiple Messages at the Same Time

To add or remove flags from multiple messages quickly in iOS Mail:

  1. Open the folder that contains the messages whose flags you want to edit.

  2. Tap Edit at the top of the screen.

  3. Tap Mark All at the bottom of the screen to mark every email in the folder. If you only want to mark some of the emails, tap each email or thread you want to mark in the empty circle next to each email to fill it with a check mark on a blue background.

  4. Tap Mark at the bottom of the screen. Other options are Move and Trash.

  5. Select Flag to add flags to all the selected messages. If the messages are already flagged, tap the Unflag option to remove the flags. Other options are Mark as Unread and Move to Junk.