This wikiHow article teaches you how to recover an email from the Trash folder in Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and Apple Mail. Unfortunately, you generally cannot recover emails that have been deleted from the Trash folder.
Steps
Method 1 of 8: Use Gmail on a cell phone
Step 1. Open Gmail
Select the Gmail application icon, which looks like a red "M" on a white envelope. This will open your Gmail inbox if you are signed in.
If you are not logged in, enter your email and password before continuing
Step 2. Select ☰
It's in the upper-left corner of the screen. This will bring up a drop-down menu.
Step 3. Select Trash
You'll see this option near the bottom of the drop-down menu.
Step 4. Find the email you want to recover
Scroll down the "Trash" folder until you find the correct email.
Step 5. Select an email
Select and hold the email you want to retrieve.
If you want to select more than one email, choose other emails after selecting the first one
Step 6. Select ⋯
It's in the upper-right corner of the screen. This will bring up a drop-down menu.
On Android, you will select ⋮
Step 7. Select Move to
You'll see this option near the top of the drop-down menu.
Step 8. Select Inbox or Principal.
Depending on your email settings, you will see one of these options at the top of the menu. This will move the selected email to the inbox.
Method 2 of 8: Use Gmail on a computer
Step 1. Open your Gmail inbox
Go to https://www.gmail.com/ in your browser. This will open your inbox if you are logged in.
If you are not signed in, enter your Gmail email address and password before continuing
Step 2. Click Trash
It's to the left of your inbox.
Step 3. Find the email you want to recover
Scroll down the "Trash" folder until you find the correct email.
You may have to use the arrows at the top right of the "Trash" folder to move to a new page if your trash has more than 50 emails
Step 4. Select the email
Click the checkbox to the left of the email that you want to move to your inbox.
Step 5. Click the "Move to" button
This folder-shaped icon is near the top of the Gmail window, just below the search bar. This will bring up a drop-down menu.
Step 6. Click Inbox
It's in the drop-down menu. In this way, you will move the selected email to your inbox.
All recovered mail will return to your inbox in chronological order
Method 3 of 8: Use Outlook on a mobile phone
Step 1. Open Outlook
Select the Outlook app icon, which looks like the white Outlook icon with a blue background. This will open your Outlook inbox if you are already signed in.
If you are not logged in, enter your email and password before continuing
Step 2. Select ☰
It's in the upper-left corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear on the left of the screen.
Step 3. Select Deleted Items
This option is in the drop-down menu.
Step 4. Find the email you want to recover
Scroll down the contents of the deleted articles folder until you find the email you want to recover.
Step 5. Select and hold the email
In this way, you will select the email in question.
If you want to select more emails after choosing the first one, just select it
Step 6. Select the "Move" icon
It's a folder-shaped icon at the bottom of the screen.
Step 7. Select Inbox
This option is at the top of the "Move" menu. In this way, you will move the selected email to the inbox.
All recovered mail will return to your inbox in chronological order
Method 4 of 8: Use Outlook on a computer
Step 1. Open your Outlook Inbox
Go to https://www.outlook.com/ in your browser. This will open your inbox if you are signed in to Outlook.
If you are not logged in, enter your email address and password when prompted
Step 2. Click Deleted Items
It's a tab on the left of the screen. This will open the Outlook Deleted Emails page.
If you don't see this option, click ☰ at the top left of the screen to make it appear
Step 3. Find the email you want to recover
Scroll down the contents of the deleted articles folder until you find the email you want to recover.
If you can't find the deleted email, but you know you deleted it up to 14 days ago, you can still get the email back. If you are using the beta version of Outlook, you will need to deactivate the beta before continuing
Step 4. Select the email
Hover over the email and then click the circle in the top left corner of the email to select it.
If you are not using the beta version of Outlook, click the box at the top left of the email
Step 5. Click Restore
It's at the top of the Outlook page, just below the search bar. In this way, you will put the selected email back in your inbox.
All recovered mail will return to your inbox in chronological order
Method 5 of 8: Use Yahoo on a cell phone
Step 1. Open Yahoo Mail
Select the Yahoo Mail application icon, which looks like a white envelope with a purple background. This will open Yahoo Mail if you are signed in.
If you're not signed in, enter your Yahoo! email and password when prompted
Step 2. Select ☰
It's in the upper-left corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
Step 3. Go down and select Trash
You'll find it near the bottom of the drop-down menu.
Step 4. Find the email you want to recover
Go down the "Trash" folder until you find the correct email.
Step 5. Select the email
Select and hold the email you want to select. A check mark will appear to the left of the email.
If you want to select more emails, choose each additional email you want to choose
Step 6. Select the "Move" icon
It's a folder-shaped icon at the bottom of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
Step 7. Select Inbox
It's at the top of the drop-down menu. In this way, you will move the selected email to your Yahoo inbox.
All recovered mail will return to your inbox in chronological order
Method 6 of 8: Use Yahoo on a Computer
Step 1. Open the Yahoo Mail page
Go to https://mail.yahoo.com/ in your browser. This will open your Yahoo inbox if you are signed in.
If you are not logged in, enter your email and password before proceeding
Step 2. Click Trash
It's on the left side of the screen. In this way, you will open the "Trash" folder.
Step 3. Find the email you want to recover
Scroll down the "Trash" folder until you find the correct email.
Step 4. Select the email you want to recover
Click the checkbox to the right of each email you want to retrieve.
Step 5. Click Restore to Inbox
It's near the top of the inbox. In this way, you will move the selected email to the inbox.
All recovered mail will return to your inbox in chronological order
Method 7 of 8: Use Apple Mail on a cell phone
Step 1. Open Mail
Select the Mail app icon, which looks like a white envelope with a light blue background.
Step 2. Select Trash
It's near the bottom of the page. This will open the "Trash" folder.
- If your Mail inbox opens, select <iCloud in the upper left corner of the screen first.
Step 3. Find the email you want to recover
Scroll down the contents of the "Trash" folder until you find the email you want to recover.
Step 4. Select Edit
It's in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Step 5. Select each email you want to recover
This way, you will select it.
Step 6. Select Move
It's at the bottom of the screen. A menu will appear.
Step 7. Select Inbox
This option is near the top of the menu. In this way, you will move the selected email to the inbox folder.
All recovered mail will return to your inbox in chronological order
Method 8 of 8: Use Apple Mail on a computer
Step 1. Open the iCloud Mail web page
Go to https://www.icloud.com/#mail in your browser. This will open your Apple Mail inbox if you are signed in to iCloud.
If you are not signed in to iCloud, enter your Apple ID and password, and then click →
Step 2. Click Trash
It's on the left side of the page.
Step 3. Find the email you want to recover
Scroll down the "Trash" folder until you find the correct email.
Step 4. Select the email
Click on the email you want to retrieve.
To select multiple emails, hold down Ctrl (Windows) or ⌘ Command (Mac) while clicking the emails
Step 5. Click
This blue folder-shaped icon is at the top of the iCloud Mail window. This will bring up a drop-down menu.
Step 6. Click Inbox
You will find it at the top of the drop-down menu. This will move the selected email to the inbox.
All recovered mail will return to your inbox in chronological order
Advice
- If you deleted an email from the "Trash" folder while using an email service on a shared server (for example, a school server), you could ask your systems administrator or IT department to retrieve a record of the information.
- In very few cases, emails that were stored in a desktop email (for example, Outlook, Thunderbird, etc.) could be recovered using a computer data recovery program. This is only feasible if you have not downloaded any software or created any folders between the time you deleted the email and the recovery point.