www.androidpolice.com 15 best tips for using Gmail on Android

Google has been busy bringing Gmail desktop features to the Gmail app on Android after killing its experimental mail client Inbox in March 2019. The company’s renewed focus on Gmail for Android does show, and the app is now jam-packed with features that help you take the email experience to the next level.

Last year, Google brought over Material You to Gmail, including redesigned widgets. Underneath the new coat of paint, Gmail has been a productive powerhouse for some time. Let's have a look at some of the best tips to manage, navigate, and send your emails like a pro.

1. Customize mail swipe actions

By default, both the right and left swipe gestures are set to archive emails in Gmail. You can easily bind them to other actions such as Delete, Mark as read/unread, Snooze, and more.

I have set the right swipe action to mark an email read and left swipe to archive it. If you are not a fan of swipe gestures, you can set both options to none as well.

2. Switch between email accounts with a gesture

Gmail on Android supports multiple email providers such as Outlook, Yahoo (I pity you), Office 365, etc. If you have added other email accounts or a secondary Gmail account, you can easily switch between them with a single gesture.

Simply swipe up or down on the account picture in the Gmail search bar, and you can cycle through added email accounts.

Once you get used to this gesture, you won’t ever need to enter the account menu at all to navigate another inbox.

3. Format emails

Gmail won’t show any formatting options right out of the gate. They're hidden inside the context menu in the compose email option.

You can add Bold, Italic, and Underline formatting, change font colors, and even use different highlighters. I mostly use it when I want to highlight a place or time for an event in an email.

4. Schedule an email

When working with colleagues in different time zones, you won’t want to send important emails over the weekend or in the middle of the night. Gmail gives you an option to schedule an email for just the right time.

Maybe you have changed your mind, and now you want to cancel the scheduled email.

To do that, tap on the hamburger menu and go to the Scheduled menu. Open the scheduled email that you want to cancel and select Cancel send.

5. Use chips to search like a pro

Google has finally brought advanced search filters, dubbed chips, to Gmail on Android. You will feel right at home if you have used search filters on Gmail for desktop before.

Tap on the search bar at the top, and you can search for an email using chips (small dropdown menus) to narrow down your results. You can filter for a specific sender, email address, the type of attachment, and by specific dates.

6. Clear Gmail search history

Gmail remembers your search history and suggests recent results when you try to look up an email or contact in the app. If you have searched for dozens of emails in the past, the search history can get crowded, though.

Thankfully, Gmail offers an option to clear the search history in the app. It’s buried in Gmail's Settings.

7. Send emails to Google Tasks

Gmail offers an option to send important emails directly to the Google Tasks app. That way, you can check emails along with your daily tasks in Google’s to-do solution.

If you haven’t installed Google Tasks on Android (I won’t judge you for that), Gmail will prompt you to install the app from the Play Store first.

8. View an email in light theme

This trick is applicable to those using Gmail in the dark theme. Due to compatibility issues, Gmail might have trouble loading some email content properly. You have an option to view a specific email in a light theme. Here’s how.

9. Bulk edit emails

Gmail allows you to bulk edit emails in a few steps.

10. Send confidential emails

Are you planning to send confidential information such as the latest quarterly data, details about upcoming products, etc., over an email? You should enable confidential mode in Gmail to prevent unauthorized access.

Using confidential mode, you are effectively disabling options such as forward, copy, print, and download for the recipient — though they can still simply screenshot or take a picture of what they're seeing, so it's not foolproof, either.

If you select Standard, the recipients will be able to open the email directly. With an SMS passcode, recipients must use a passcode from their mobile number to open the mail. Make sure to add the recipient’s phone number (not yours) while setting up confidential mode in Gmail.

11. Enable Chat and Spaces in Gmail

Google has integrated Google Chat and Spaces right into the Gmail app. If for some reason (I would love to know why) you are planning to use Google Chat for communication, you can enable the option for your account via Gmail Settings.

12. Add custom status to Google Chat

You should set the correct status in Google Chat so that people don’t bother you with messages in the app when you're not available.

Go to the Google Chat tab, tap on the hamburger menu, and select Add a status. You can either add a custom status or select from ready-to-use suggestions.

13. Set Vacation responder

It’s important to take a small break from your busy life. It’s even more important to let your customers or colleagues know about your absence from the office. You have the option to set an out-of-office note in Gmail using the Vacation responder menu.

14. Enable Action Confirmations

I can’t recall how many times I have accidentally deleted an email or sent one with an embarrassing typo. Gmail offers action confirmations that remind you to double-check everything before deleting, archiving, or sending an email.

Now Gmail will ask for confirmation before taking any action on an email.

15. Limit data usage in Google Meet

This one is aimed at users dealing with tight data plans on Android. If you happen to conduct a lot of Google Meet calls from the Gmail app, you can apply some brakes to data consumption.

Navigate to Gmail Settings and select an email account. In the Meet menu, enable the Limit data usage option and the app will adjust the call quality to save data.

While we are still waiting for Gmail's powerful filters for incoming mail to arrive on Android, Google has done a decent job bringing many Gmail desktop features to its Android counterpart. Although the Play Store is filled with capable Gmail alternatives, it's easiest to stick with Google's offering for familiarity and out of box experience.

Parth started his career by covering tech news. A tech enthusiast by heart, you will find him talking about how-tos, guides, app comparisons, tutorials, and troubleshooting tricks on Android Police and Guiding Tech. Take away his mechanical keyboard and you will see him dealing in diamonds in Surat, India.