Can I delete several Gmail labels at once?

Last reviewed: October 29, 2026 · Markdown version

The short answer

Google's help documents no way to remove several labels in one go. Every set of steps on its labels page, for the computer and for both apps, starts from a single label and ends with a single delete (Create & manage labels in Gmail, read 29 October 2026). If a tool or a screen offers a bulk delete, it is not one Google describes. So a clear-out of twenty labels is twenty deletes; the rest of this page is about making each one quick and safe.

One at a time, by device

Where	Google's steps
Computer	"On the left side of the page, hover over the label's name", then "Click More Remove label" (the labels page above)
Android	Menu, Settings, your account, "Tap Manage labels", select the label, "Tap Delete" (Create & manage labels in Gmail (Android), read 29 October 2026)
iPhone and iPad	Menu, Settings, "Tap Inbox customizations Labels", select the label, "Tap Delete" (Create & manage labels in Gmail (iPhone & iPad), read 29 October 2026)

Gmail's Settings also has a Labels tab listing every label, but the only thing Google's page documents there is a Show or Hide choice beside each one (the computer labels page above). It does not describe deleting from that list.

What each delete does to your mail

Nothing is lost except the tag. Google's developer reference for the same action says it "permanently deletes the specified label and removes it from any messages and threads that it's applied to" (Method: users.labels.delete, read 29 October 2026). It says nothing about deleting the messages, and the labels page is clear that "Labels are different from folders". If the goal is to get rid of the mail as well, do that before removing the label, while the label still finds it: deleting every email in a label has the steps.

Neither page says what happens to the labels nested under one you delete, so with a parent label, remove the ones inside it first and you will not have to find out.

If the problem is clutter, hiding is faster

A sidebar with too many labels can be tidied without deleting anything. Settings, See all settings, Labels, then "Next to a label, click Show or Hide" (the computer labels page above). Google frames this as choosing which labels "appear to the left of your inbox", and nothing on that page says hiding touches the label or its mail, so there is nothing to undo if you change your mind. Our rule of thumb: hide labels you might search by, delete labels you never will.

Before a big clear-out

Check Settings, Filters and Blocked Addresses for filters that apply a label you are about to remove. Google's filter page says filters can "send email to a label" (Create rules to filter your emails, read 29 October 2026), and it does not say what such a filter does once its label is gone. Deleting or editing the filter at the same time avoids the question.