How to Archive Emails in Gmail to Save Space?
Christopher Plummer | February 19th, 2025 | Data Backup, Gmail
This blog will show you easy ways to archive emails in Gmail to save space. You’ll learn two methods – one is manual (using Google’s free tool), and the other is automatic (using smart software). Both are simple, and you can choose the one that suits you best. Let’s get started!
Why Archive Gmail Emails?
Gmail offers 15 GB of free cloud storage shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. Once this limit is reached, you may stop receiving new emails or uploading files unless you upgrade your storage plan.
Here’s why archiving is a smart option:
- Keeps your inbox clutter-free.
- Saves important data without deletion.
- Helps manage your Gmail storage more efficiently.
- Makes room for new messages.
If your Gmail is running out of space, you don’t always have to delete emails. Instead, you can archive them. Archiving moves emails out of your inbox but keeps them safe in your account or computer.
Here are a few smart ways to free up space without deleting. Let’s go through them one by one.
How to Archive Gmail Emails Without Deleting Emails?
Use Google Takeout Service to backup Gmail emails with attachments. This is a free way that Google offers that allows users to take backup of Google accounts, including Gmail. To archive emails in Gmail to save space, follow the steps carefully.
1. Sign in to your Gmail account and click this link to Open the Google Takeout page.
2. Select the Deselect All option in the new window, then scroll down and choose the Mail option.
3. Select Send Download Link via Email as the Delivery Method.
4. Choose the file type; .zip as a file format and 2 GB file size. then click “Create Export” from the menu.
5. Now, Go to your Gmail inbox. You will receive an email that consists of a download link there. To save your Gmail emails, click on it.
6. The exported file will be in .mbox format, which you can save externally.
Complete! Here, you can export Gmail to MBOX file with the help of the Google Takeout tool. The email data file must be copied and pasted into your flash drive.
While using this manual method, you can download your Gmail emails to your computer but it has some limitations also;
Limitations of Relying on Manual Methods;
- Takes time to prepare the archive.
- Can only export in MBOX format.
- No option to export selected folders or apply filters.
- No control over archive storage location.
How to Automatically Archive Gmail Emails Using Filters?
To easily archive emails in Gmail to save space use Advik Gmail Backup Tool on your Windows Utility. With this tool, you will get an option to directly archive Gmail emails in a few simple steps. The software offers various saving options such as PST, PDF, MBOX, EML, TXT, HTML, etc. It preserves all email attributes and mailbox folder hierarchy during the process. It offers various advanced filter options to archive specific emails based on date range, to, from, subject, etc.
Try the FREE version to check features and performance.
Steps to Archive Gmail Emails to Save Space
Step 1. Run the software and log in with your Gmail account details.
Step 2. Choose the email folders of your choice and proceed further.
Step 3. Select any saving option from 30+list.
Step 4. Choose the destination location to save the resultant file.
Step 5. Finally, tap on the Backup button to start the Gmail archiving process.
Done! In just a few minutes, your Gmail emails will be saved at your selected location.
You can now access them in the file format you chose.
Here’s how this tool makes the Gmail archiving process easier and more efficient;
- It helps you reduce Gmail storage by saving emails to computer, without deleting anything.
- You can archive Gmail emails in formats like PST, PDF, MBOX, EML, HTML, and more
- Your emails remain exactly as they are, with no loss of formatting, metadata, or folder structure.
- You can choose to archive emails by date, sender, subject, or other filters.
- The tool is beginner-friendly, so you don’t need any technical skills to use it.
- Works smoothly on Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, and even older versions.
How Archiving Helps with Gmail Storage?
Gmail offers 15GB of free storage across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. Once you exceed this limit, you may need to purchase additional storage. Archiving emails can help you manage your storage space by moving old emails out of your inbox, so you don’t hit your storage limit quickly. While archiving doesn’t free up space directly, it makes your inbox more manageable, allowing you to focus on the emails that matter most.
Concluding Words
In this write-up, we have described both manual and professional solutions to archive emails in Gmail to save space. As you can see the manual method takes too long and is also lengthy too. Thus, you should use an automated tool to save your time and manual efforts as well. The above-suggested tool will help you archive Gmail to free up space efficiently and effectively. If you still have any doubts, you can also download its FREE trial version and check out its functionality.
Most Asked Questions
Q1. Where do archived emails go in Gmail?
Ans. They move to the All Mail label and are removed from the inbox. You can search for them using Gmail search.
Q2. How do I access archived emails in Gmail?
Ans. Go to All Mail or use the Gmail search bar to find them.
Q3. How much storage does Gmail offer for free?
Ans. Google gives you 15 GB of free storage shared across Gmail, Drive, and Photos.
Q4. Can I archive only emails with large attachments?
Ans. Yes, use filters like has:attachment larger:10M to locate and archive those emails.
Q5. Is there a tool to archive Gmail to an external hard drive?
Ans. Yes, Advik Software offers an advanced tool to save Gmail emails to flash drive or any external drive in various formats.
Q6. Do archiving emails delete them?
Ans. No, archiving does not delete your emails. It simply hides them from the inbox.