Short answer: On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Apps > Mail > Swipe Options (under Message List) and choose what swiping left and right does. If swiping offers Archive when you want Delete, change the account's Move Discarded Messages Into setting from Archive Mailbox to the deleted-messages mailbox. On a Mac you can't assign swipes: a two-finger swipe right marks a message read or unread, and a swipe left moves it to the Trash or the Archive, depending on Mail > Settings > Viewing > Move discarded messages into.
These steps are for iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 and Mail in macOS 27. On older versions of iOS and iPadOS, Mail sits directly in Settings rather than under Apps; the rest of the path is the same.
How swipe actions work in Mail on iPhone
In any message list, a swipe does one of three things:
- Drag slowly to the left and a row of buttons appears. Tap the one you want.
- Swipe all the way to the left and Mail does the rightmost action straight away, with no tap needed.
- Swipe to the right to show the other actions.
Swipe Options decides which actions sit in those spots. Everything else stays one tap away in the More menu or inside the message.
How to change swipe options on iPhone or iPad
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Apps, then tap Mail.
- Under Message List, tap Swipe Options.
- Tap the left or right swipe and choose an action from the list. Go back to save it.
Test it in your inbox straight away: drag a message slowly so you can see the buttons before you commit to a full swipe. The list of actions is short and fixed, so you can't add custom ones.
Make swipe delete instead of archive
This is the most common complaint: you swipe expecting Trash and get Archive. The choice isn't in Swipe Options at all. It's an account setting that tells Mail where discarded messages go:
- Open Settings, tap Apps, then Mail, then Mail Accounts.
- For an iCloud account, tap iCloud, then Mailbox Behaviors. For other accounts, tap the account, tap Account Settings, then Advanced.
- Under Move Discarded Messages Into, choose the deleted-messages (Trash) mailbox instead of Archive Mailbox.
Do this for each account. With Archive Mailbox selected you can still delete a single message: touch and hold the Archive button, then tap Trash Message. If Mail asks for confirmation every time you delete, turn off Ask Before Deleting under Messages in Settings > Apps > Mail.
Why your swipes act on a whole sender
If Mail sorts your inbox into categories (Primary, Transactions, Updates and Promotions), swipes behave differently outside Primary. In the Transactions, Updates and Promotions lists, each row stands for a sender, and swiping left to flag, for example, flags all of that sender's messages in the category. To act on one message, tap the row to open the sender's digest view, then swipe on the single message there. That's usually why swipes seem to do the wrong thing after an update.
Can you change swipe actions in Mail on Mac?
Not really. Mail on a Mac does support swipes, with two fingers on a trackpad or Magic Mouse, but they're fixed:
| Gesture | What it does | Can you change it? |
|---|---|---|
| Two-finger swipe right | Shows Unread or Read (and Remind Me); click one | No |
| Two-finger swipe left | Moves the message to the Trash or the Archive | Only Trash or Archive, in Viewing settings |
| Swipe left on a follow-up suggestion | Ignores the suggestion | No; turn Follow Up Suggestions off in General settings |
To pick between Trash and Archive for the left swipe:
- In Mail, choose Mail > Settings, then click Viewing.
- Click the Move discarded messages into pop-up menu and choose Trash or Archive.
Apple notes that the same setting decides whether Mail notifications offer Delete or Archive. Mail's Settings have no other swipe options, so if you want more one-motion actions on a Mac, keyboard shortcuts are the way to go. Control-Command-A archives, Shift-Command-U toggles read and unread, and you can add your own; see our Apple Mail keyboard shortcuts guide. Control-clicking a message also gives you the full menu of actions.
If swiping in Mail doesn't work
- On iPhone, nothing happens when you swipe. Open Swipe Options and check what each direction is set to. Also try a slower drag rather than a quick flick.
- On iPhone, the action is wrong for one account. Each account has its own Move Discarded Messages Into setting, so a Gmail account can archive while iCloud deletes. Check them one by one.
- On a Mac, swipes don't register. Use two fingers, and make sure the pointer is over the message list, not the message itself.
- On a Mac, you swiped something away by accident. Choose Edit > Undo or press Command-Z.
Want more say over how your inbox works?
Disclosure: we make Canary Mail. If Mail's swipes and settings don't fit the way you handle email, another app might. Canary Mail is an email app for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows and Android that works with Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Yahoo, Exchange and other IMAP accounts. It sorts incoming mail with AI, and that triage runs on your device. The free plan covers unlimited accounts on 2 devices with AI inbox sorting; the Growth plan ($36 a year) adds AI writing and summaries, read receipts and send later. There's a 7-day trial, and paid plans are yearly or lifetime. More than 2 million people use it, and Apple has featured it on the App Store and the Mac App Store.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I change swipe settings in Mail on iPhone?
Go to Settings > Apps > Mail, then tap Swipe Options under Message List. Pick an action for the left and right swipe.
How do I make swipe left delete instead of archive on iPhone?
In Settings > Apps > Mail > Mail Accounts, open the account (Mailbox Behaviors for iCloud, or Account Settings > Advanced for others) and change Move Discarded Messages Into from Archive Mailbox to the deleted-messages mailbox.
Can you change Apple Mail swipe actions on Mac?
Only partly. In Mail > Settings > Viewing, Move discarded messages into decides whether a left swipe sends messages to the Trash or the Archive. The right swipe (Read or Unread) can't be changed.
Why can't I swipe to delete emails on my iPhone?
Your account is probably set to archive discarded messages. Change Move Discarded Messages Into for that account, or touch and hold the Archive button and tap Trash Message.
Why does a swipe flag every email from a sender?
In the Transactions, Updates and Promotions categories, each row groups a sender's messages, so a swipe applies to all of them. Open the sender's digest view to swipe a single message.
More Mac Mail guides
- How to customize the Mac Mail sidebar and Favorites
- How to make email templates in Apple Mail
- How to use and rename flags in Mac Mail
- Apple Mail keyboard shortcuts and how to change them
- How to customize the Mac Mail toolbar
- Smart Mailboxes in Mac Mail
- How to pin an email in Apple Mail
Other Mac Mail fixes
- Mac Mail not opening or freezing
- Mac Mail keeps crashing
- Mac Mail not sending emails
- Messages stuck in the Outbox
- Mac Mail not receiving emails
- Mac Mail inbox not updating
- Mac Mail can't connect to the server
- "Unable to verify account name or password"
- Mac Mail not showing attachments
- Mac Mail not showing images
- Mac Mail search not working
Sources
- Apple iPhone User Guide: Organize email in mailboxes on iPhone (swipe actions)
- Apple iPhone User Guide: Change your Mail settings on iPhone
- Apple iPhone User Guide: Delete and recover emails in Mail on iPhone
- Apple iPhone User Guide: Flag or block emails in Mail on iPhone
- Apple Mail User Guide (macOS 27): Change Viewing settings
- Apple Mail User Guide (macOS 27): Read and respond to emails
- Apple Mail User Guide (macOS 27): Switch to Mail
- Apple Mail User Guide (macOS 27): Mark emails to revisit later (flags, rename flags)