How to make archiving email the default for iCloud Mail on iOS
I never delete email. I’ve kept every email I’ve ever received since I first got access to the Gmail beta, and across several email addresses and providers I’ve used since then. I currently use a custom domain name with my iCloud+ subscription.
By default, if you use Apple’s Mail client for iOS to access your iCloud Mail, swiping left on an email in your inbox — or tapping the icon at the bottom left of an email which you’re reading — will delete it.
This isn’t ideal if you never want to delete email. Fortunately, it’s possible to make these actions archive your email instead.
- Open the Settings app, and tap your name for the Apple ID, iCloud, Media & Purchases settings at the top.
2. tap iCloud to access iCloud settings.
3. Swipe all the way to the bottom of the screen (which may be a particularly long screen if you have a lot of apps installed), and tap Mail to access iCloud Mail settings.
4. Tap Advanced at the bottom of the iCloud Mail settings screen.
5. Choose “Move Discarded Messages Into: Archive Mailbox” from the advanced settings.
6. Tap “← Mail” at the top left to return to iCloud Mail settings, then tap “Done” at the top right to apply the change.
Done! Swiping left on an email in your inbox, or tapping the icon in the bottom left of an email you’re reading, will now archive it.
