How to See Only Unread Emails in the iPhone Mail App

* This article is from our Tip of the Day newsletter. . *

The Apple Mail app on the iPhone allows you to filter your email with a single tap. When you tap the filter icon in the Mail app, you can easily turn the email filter on or off. You can then use this email filter to view only your unread emails, but you can also customize the iPhone's email filter so you only see flagged emails, emails sent that day, or emails with attachments. Here’s how to filter emails in the Mail app on your iPhone to see only unread emails.

Related: How to Add a New Email Account to the Mail App on iPhone & iPad (2019)

iPhone Life
Discover your iPhone's hidden features
Get a daily tip (with screenshots and clear instructions) so you can master your iPhone in just one minute a day.

How to See All the Unread Emails on Your iPhone

  1. Open the Mail app.
  2. Tap the Filter icon at the bottom left corner of the screen.
  3. At the bottom center, it will say Filtered by: Unread
  4. You should now see only your unread emails.

    filter email in the mail app on iphonetap unread to change filter options


How to Change the Email Filters on Your iPhone

  1. To change the criteria for your iPhone email filter, tap Unread at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Tap to add or remove a filter. A blue check indicate the filter has been selected.
  3. You can tap to include mail from one or all of your email accounts, to see only Unread or Flagged emails, and to only view emails sent directly to you or that you’re Cc’d on.
  4. You can also toggle on Only Mail with AttachmentsOnly from VIP, Only Mail Sent Today, or any combination of the three.
  5. Once you’ve made the changes you want, tap Done.
  6. Now when you tap the filter icon in your inbox, you will see only the email that you have filtered for.

    email filter options on iphonetap done when you're finished setting email filters
Master your iPhone in one minute a day: Sign up here to get our FREE Tip of the Day delivered right to your inbox.

Topics

Author Details

Conner Carey's picture

Author Details

Conner Carey

Conner Carey's writing can be found at conpoet.com. She is currently writing a book, creating lots of content, and writing poetry via @conpoet on Instagram. She lives in an RV full-time with her mom, Jan and dog, Jodi as they slow-travel around the country.