How long does Gmail keep "old" emails in Android client?

Tsunami · 17 May 2020, 12:39 AM

I installed one Gmail account in my smartphone, working on Android, so that I can receive and send emails from my phone while I'm on the road. What I noticed though is that when scrolling down in the mail client on my phone, sometimes emails as old as 2018 were still showing, but some other moments when scrolling down I couldn't scroll down lower than November 2019. The last weeks I never seem to be able to scroll down to older emails (neither in the inbox nor in sent items), it's like those old emails simply vanished...

Is there anything I can do in terms of settings so that old emails still show on my phone?

Are those emails gone, or are they retained in the webmail version of that same Gmail account?

I don't have the habit of deleting old email, I prefer to keep them (unless they're really of no use to store) for future re-reading if needed. So I don't like the idea of emails older than 6 or 7 months just disappearing...

TenFour · 17 May 2020, 06:24 AM

There's a setting in the Gmail app for "Days of mail to sync." I keep mine at 30 days. Your other emails should be available if you logged in via a web browser.

EricG · 17 May 2020, 02:58 PM

I have "Days of mail to sync" at 183, previous phone was 91. In "manage labels" I have starred set to "all".

If you are online, it downloads headers (not bodies) as you scroll down. Seems to reach the beginning. Maybe it caches them for offline.

Tsunami · 21 May 2020, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenFour

There's a setting in the Gmail app for "Days of mail to sync." I keep mine at 30 days. Your other emails should be available if you logged in via a web browser.

If the emails no longer showing in my Gmail app on my phone are still accessible via webmail, then it's fine. I would hate to have lost those emails. However, I'd still prefer to have all emails showing in my app. I'll have a look at the settings, although with a bit of nerves as I'd not like to press wrong buttons and mess up the whole thing

So far I never needed the settings in the app as, until the oldest emails were no longer showing, everything worked just fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricG

I have "Days of mail to sync" at 183, previous phone was 91. In "manage labels" I have starred set to "all".

If you are online, it downloads headers (not bodies) as you scroll down. Seems to reach the beginning. Maybe it caches them for offline.

If you can have seperate settings for the starred emails, like showing ALL starred emails EVER no matter how old, that would be interesting too. I "star" all important emails anyway in my Gmail app.

TenFour · 21 May 2020, 01:44 AM

I try to unstar emails once I'm done with them so I can quickly see anything important by checking just the star label.

Tsunami · 21 May 2020, 02:53 AM

I mainly star emails I want to be able to re-read later because there's important info in them which I don't want to lose. So if there is a method to have starred emails remaining in the Gmail app regardless how old they are, that would be great.

Either that, or having ALL emails regardless of date showing in the Gmail app. It's nice to know that emails remain in the webmail, but I'd prefer to have them with me on the go on my mobile.

Guess I'll have to go through the settings, which I've never done before in the Gmail app, but I assume it will explain itself.

17 May 2020, 12:39 AM	#1
Tsunami The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: in between the bright lights and the far unlit unknown Posts: 2,341	How long does Gmail keep "old" emails in Android client? I installed one Gmail account in my smartphone, working on Android, so that I can receive and send emails from my phone while I'm on the road. What I noticed though is that when scrolling down in the mail client on my phone, sometimes emails as old as 2018 were still showing, but some other moments when scrolling down I couldn't scroll down lower than November 2019. The last weeks I never seem to be able to scroll down to older emails (neither in the inbox nor in sent items), it's like those old emails simply vanished... Is there anything I can do in terms of settings so that old emails still show on my phone? Are those emails gone, or are they retained in the webmail version of that same Gmail account? I don't have the habit of deleting old email, I prefer to keep them (unless they're really of no use to store) for future re-reading if needed. So I don't like the idea of emails older than 6 or 7 months just disappearing...

17 May 2020, 06:24 AM	#2
TenFour Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: USA Posts: 1,722	There's a setting in the Gmail app for "Days of mail to sync." I keep mine at 30 days. Your other emails should be available if you logged in via a web browser.

17 May 2020, 02:58 PM	#3
EricG Essential Contributor Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 296	I have "Days of mail to sync" at 183, previous phone was 91. In "manage labels" I have starred set to "all". If you are online, it downloads headers (not bodies) as you scroll down. Seems to reach the beginning. Maybe it caches them for offline.

21 May 2020, 01:44 AM	#5
TenFour Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: USA Posts: 1,722	I try to unstar emails once I'm done with them so I can quickly see anything important by checking just the star label.

21 May 2020, 02:53 AM	#6
Tsunami The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: in between the bright lights and the far unlit unknown Posts: 2,341	I mainly star emails I want to be able to re-read later because there's important info in them which I don't want to lose. So if there is a method to have starred emails remaining in the Gmail app regardless how old they are, that would be great. Either that, or having ALL emails regardless of date showing in the Gmail app. It's nice to know that emails remain in the webmail, but I'd prefer to have them with me on the go on my mobile. Guess I'll have to go through the settings, which I've never done before in the Gmail app, but I assume it will explain itself.