How to Flag Messages in the iPhone and iPad Mail App

Mark important emails to deal with them when you are ready

Hand holding white iPhone with Mail app on screen

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by Heinz Tschabitscher
A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated November 04, 2019

The Mail app for iOS includes a basic feature to flag emails for later attention. In Mail, unread messages display a blue dot and flagged messages display an orange dot. Flag messages individually or in batches.

Instructions in this article apply to iOS 12 and iOS 11.

Flag an Email in the iPhone and iPad Mail Application

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

  1. Open the email in the Mail app.

  2. Tap the Flag icon.

  3. Select Flag.

    Other options are Mark as Unread, Move to Junk, and Notify Me, which notifies you when someone replies to an email thread.

  4. A flagged email displays an orange dot next to it in the Inbox as well as in the message.

    Flac icon, Flag button, Flag indicator in iOS Mail app

  5. To find flagged email messages, go to the Mail Home screen and open the Flagged folder.

Mark Multiple Messages at the Same Time

To add or remove flags from several messages simultaneously:

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

  2. Tap Edit.

  3. Tap Mark All to mark every email in the folder. To mark some emails, tap the circle next to each email to fill it with a check mark.

  4. Tap Mark.

  5. Select Flag to add flags to the selected messages. If the messages are flagged, tap Unflag to remove the flags.

    Edit button, checkboxes for single emails, Flag button in iOS Mail app