How to Find Unread Emails in Gmail

Search for is:unread. That is the operator Google lists for unread mail. It works in the search box on a computer and in the Gmail app.

The number beside Inbox is a count. Clicking Inbox opens the inbox, read mail included. It does not switch the list to unread only.

Checked against Refine searches in Gmail and Search in Gmail on November 9, 2026.

Search for unread mail

On a computer:

1. Open Gmail.
2. Click the search box and type is:unread.
3. Press Enter.

After any search, an Is unread chip sits under the search box. Select it to keep only mail that is still unread. Google's search article lists that chip on the computer, and the Android and iPhone and iPad articles list it in the app.

Add operators in the same box. Leave no space after the colon. The rest of the syntax is in Gmail search operators.

category: only applies when you use inbox categories. older_than: takes d, m, or y. People also type label:unread. The operator Google documents for unread mail is is:unread. label: on that same page is for a label, such as label:newsletters. Deleting the old unread results is a different job. How to delete old emails in Gmail already covers older_than:, including unread mail older than a year.

With conversation view on, which is Gmail's default, one unread message makes the whole thread match. The row can include messages you have already read.

A normal search skips Spam and Trash. in:anywhere is:unread is the search that includes them. Google's search article says the same thing another way: open Show search options, set Search to Mail & Spam & Trash, and search.

This page only finds the mail. To clear the unread state, use how to mark all emails as read in Gmail. To move the results to Trash, use how to delete all unread emails in Gmail.

Put unread mail at the top

Unread first splits the inbox into two sections. Google's inbox layout article, checked November 9, 2026, says Unread is at the top and Everything else is at the bottom. Read mail stays on the page. Use is:unread when you want a list that is only unread.

On a computer:

1. Open Gmail.
2. At the top right, click Settings.
3. Under Inbox type, select Unread first.

That control is in the Quick settings panel the gear opens.

When the number and the list disagree

The count and a search are measuring different sets.

• Other tabs. With the Default inbox, Gmail sorts mail into Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums. Google's category help, checked November 9, 2026, describes those tabs. Unread mail on Promotions is not the number you are looking at on Primary. Open the tab, or search is:unread category:promotions (and the other category names).
• Archived unread mail. is:unread includes it. The Inbox number does not, because that mail no longer has the Inbox label. Search is:unread -in:inbox for unread mail outside the inbox.
• Spam and Trash. A normal is:unread search skips both. Unread spam can sit there until Spam empties itself. Use in:anywhere is:unread.
• Snoozed mail. in:snoozed is:unread finds unread mail you snoozed. It is out of the inbox until the snooze ends.
• One unread reply. Conversation view shows the thread as unread when any message in it is unread. Open the thread to see which message is bold.

New-mail notifications are a separate count. With categories on, Google's category article says those notifications cover Primary only. The other tabs can still hold unread mail when the phone stays quiet.

On the Gmail app

is:unread works in the app. Checked against the Android and iPhone search articles on November 9, 2026.

1. Open the Gmail app.
2. At the top, tap Search in mail.
3. Type is:unread, or a narrower search from the table above.
4. Tap Search on the keyboard.

Tap the Is unread chip under the search box to limit the results the same way. Without a connection, Google says the app can only search mail already synced to the phone.

Unread first is in the app too, on the same help page as the computer layout.

Android:

1. Tap Menu, then Settings.
2. Choose the account.
3. Under Inbox, tap Inbox type.
4. Tap Unread first.

iPhone or iPad:

1. Tap Menu, then Settings.
2. Under Inbox, tap Inbox type.
3. Tap Unread first.

The app articles list Unread first as an inbox type. They do not add a different search operator.

Run the search again later

Click the search box. Google's search article says your most recent search may show there, and Gmail suggests past searches. That is the closest thing to a saved unread view. Tap it to run is:unread again.

Create filter, in Show search options, builds a rule for mail as it arrives. It does not keep a live list of everything unread. A filter whose condition is is:unread matches every new message, because new mail arrives unread. The reasons not to attach Delete it or Mark as read to that condition are in how to delete all unread emails and how to mark all emails as read.

MailSweeper leaves the unread state alone. When the unread pile is promotions, social, updates, or forums you have already decided to sweep, a schedule moves that labeled mail to Trash. Starred and important mail stays. Finding the message is still the search above.

FAQs

Why doesn't the unread count match the emails I see?

The number beside Inbox counts unread mail that still has the Inbox label. With category tabs on, Promotions, Social, Updates, and Forums are separate from the tab you are looking at. is:unread is larger than that number because it also includes archived unread mail. Spam and Trash stay out of both until you search in:anywhere is:unread.

Does is:unread include Spam and archived mail?

Archived mail, yes. Spam and Trash, no. Add in:anywhere when you need those two folders. Add in:inbox when you want the search to match the Inbox count more closely.

Can I see only unread emails in the Gmail app?

Yes. Tap Search in mail, type is:unread, and tap Search. The Is unread chip does the same job on a search you already ran. Unread first, under Menu, Settings, Inbox type, puts unread mail in its own section and still shows read mail.

Does Unread first hide mail I have already read?

No. On a computer, Google says the inbox splits into Unread at the top and Everything else at the bottom. Read mail remains in Everything else. is:unread is the search that leaves read mail out of the list.