Labels are Gmail's filing system, and you create them yourself
A label in Gmail is a tag you attach to an email so you can find it later and group similar messages together. Unlike folders in other email programs, a single email can have multiple labels at once — so a message from your landlord about a repair can be labeled both "Landlord" and "Urgent" without being in two places. You create labels yourself, name them whatever makes sense to you, and Gmail stores them in a sidebar on the left side of your inbox.
Labels work on any device where you check Gmail: phone, tablet, or computer. When you label a message on your phone, that label appears on your computer too. This matters because if you're trying to spot a scam email later, you might search for "suspicious" or "check this" and find every message you flagged that way, across all your devices.
Key Takeaways
- Create a new label by clicking the three-dot menu next to "More" in the left sidebar, then selecting "Create new label" and typing a name.
- Add a label to an email by opening the message, clicking the label icon (looks like a tag), and checking the box next to the label you want.
- One email can have as many labels as you want, so a suspicious message can be labeled both "Check Later" and "Possible Scam".
- Labels appear in your left sidebar and let you see all messages with that label by clicking on it — useful for grouping bills, receipts, or messages from specific people.
- You can delete a label without deleting the emails that had it; Gmail will ask you what to do with those messages first.
Creating a label from your computer
Open Gmail in a web browser on your computer. On the left side, you'll see your inbox and other folders. Below those, look for a section labeled "Labels" — if you don't see it yet, that's normal; Gmail adds it once you create your first label.
Click the three dots next to the word "More" (or next to "Labels" if that section already exists). A small menu will pop up. Select "Create new label". A box will appear asking you to name the label. Type something clear and short — "Bills", "Work", "Suspicious", "Landlord", or "To Review" all work well. Avoid very long names because they take up space in your sidebar. Click "Create" and your label is done.
If you want to organize labels into groups (for example, putting "Electric Bill", "Water Bill", and "Gas Bill" under a parent label called "Bills"), you can do that too. When you create the label, check the box that says "Nest label under" and pick the parent label from the dropdown. This keeps your sidebar cleaner if you end up with many labels.
Creating a label from your phone
Open the Gmail app on your phone. Tap the three horizontal lines (called a hamburger menu) in the top left corner. Scroll down to the bottom of the menu and tap "Create new label". Type the name you want and tap "Create".
The process is the same on iPhone and Android, though the exact button locations may look slightly different. Once you create the label on your phone, it shows up on your computer and any other device where you use Gmail.
Adding a label to an email you already have
Open the email you want to label. On a computer, look for a small tag icon near the top of the message (it's usually near the archive and delete buttons). Click it. A list of all your labels will appear. Check the box next to any label you want to add — you can pick more than one. The labels will stick to that email.
On a phone, open the email and tap the three dots in the top right corner. Tap "Add label" and check the boxes for the labels you want. The email now has those labels, and you can see them listed at the top of the message.
If you want to label an email without opening it, you can do this on a computer: hover over the email in your inbox list, and a small label icon will appear on the right side. Click it and add labels from there. This is faster if you're labeling many emails at once.
Labeling multiple emails at the same time
On a computer, click the checkbox next to the first email you want to label. Then hold Shift and click the checkbox next to the last email in the group you want to label — this selects all emails between them. Or click individual checkboxes while holding Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) to pick specific emails that aren't next to each other.
Once you have emails selected, a toolbar will appear at the top. Click the label icon (the tag shape) and check the boxes for the labels you want to add to all of them at once. This is useful if you get a batch of bills or receipts and want to label them all "Bills" or "2024 Receipts" in one action.
On a phone, open each email individually and add labels one at a time — the Gmail app doesn't have a bulk-labeling feature like the computer version does.
Finding emails by label and managing labels you've created
On a computer, your labels appear in the left sidebar under the "Labels" section. Click any label name and Gmail shows you every email with that label. The number next to the label tells you how many emails have it.
On a phone, tap the three horizontal lines in the top left, and your labels appear in the menu. Tap a label to see all emails with that label.
To rename a label, right-click it (on a computer) or long-press it (on a phone) and select "Edit label". To delete a label, do the same and select "Delete label". Gmail will ask what you want to do with the emails that had that label — you can keep them in your inbox, move them to trash, or move them to another label. The emails themselves don't disappear; only the label does.
Using labels to spot and organize suspicious emails
Create a label called "Check Later", "Suspicious", or "Verify" — whatever name makes sense to you. When you get an email that looks off but you're not sure, label it with this tag instead of deleting it. Later, you can click that label in your sidebar and review all the questionable emails together, looking for patterns or asking someone else to check them.
You can also create labels for specific types of messages you want to keep organized: "Receipts", "Passwords", "Contracts", "From Bank", or "From Landlord". Labeling emails this way makes them much easier to find later if you need to prove you paid something, check a detail, or spot a fake message pretending to be from someone you know.
Labels don't replace good judgment — a label won't stop a scam email from reaching you — but they do help you organize your inbox so you can review suspicious messages carefully and spot patterns you might otherwise miss.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I search for emails by label?
Yes. Click the label in your sidebar to see all emails with that label. You can also type "label:Bills" in Gmail's search box to find emails labeled "Bills", or combine it with other search terms like "label:Bills from:landlord" to narrow down further.
What's the difference between a label and a folder?
A folder holds an email in one place. A label is a tag that can be on multiple emails at once, and one email can have many labels. In Gmail, labels are more flexible because an email about a repair from your landlord can be labeled both "Landlord" and "Urgent" without being in two separate folders.
If I delete an email, does the label disappear?
No. The label stays in your sidebar. If you delete all emails with a particular label, the label itself is still there but shows zero emails. You can delete the label itself anytime by right-clicking it and selecting "Delete label".
Can I color-code labels like I can in other email programs?
Gmail doesn't have built-in color coding for labels, but you can use emoji or symbols in the label name to make them stand out — for example, "🚨 Urgent" or "💰 Bills". This makes labels easier to spot in your sidebar.
Do labels sync across all my devices?
Yes. If you create a label on your computer, it appears on your phone. If you label an email on your phone, that label shows up on your computer. This works as long as you're using the same Gmail account on all devices.