Change your Gmail settings

You can:

  • Add an email signature
  • Select which emails you're notified about
  • Change other settings
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Get to the Settings page

  1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Gmail app .
  2. At the top left, tap Menu and then Settings .

Settings that you can change

Note: Some Gmail settings can only be changed on a computer.

Show sender images

When this setting is on, you'll select messages by tapping the sender's profile image. When this setting is off, you'll see tick boxes instead.

  1. Make sure that you've downloaded the Gmail app.
  2. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Gmail app .
  3. Tap Menu Menu and then Settings.
  4. Turn on Show sender images.
Swipe actions
You can choose what happens when you swipe a message left or right:
  • Archive
  • Bin
  • Mark as read/unread
  • Snooze
  • Move to…
  • None

Change your swipe actions

Note: Unless you changed 'When removing messages, I prefer to...' in your general settings, a left or right swipe archives a message by default.
  1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Gmail app .
  2. At the top left, tap Menu and then Settings .
  3. Under 'Inbox', tap Inbox customisations and then Mail swipe actions.
  4. Tap Right swipe or Left swipe.
  5. Select the swipe action that you want to set.

Use custom swipe with a screen reader

Your custom actions still apply when you use VoiceOver. To choose an action, focus on the message you want, then swipe down.
Note: Your VoiceOver rotor must be set to 'Actions'. Learn more about the VoiceOver rotor on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
Smart Reply

Learn more about suggested replies.

Privacy settings

Your iPhone or iPad has privacy settings that control how Gmail can use information on your device, such as your contacts and photos.

If you want to access your device's contacts or photos while using Gmail, follow these steps:

  1. Go to your device's Settings app.
  2. Tap Privacy.
  3. Tap Contacts or Photos.
  4. Turn on Gmail.

You can always revoke or change these settings by going back to your device's Settings app.

'Gmail would like to access…'

When you add contacts or photos from your device to a message for the first time, you'll see this prompt.

By tapping OK, you’ll allow Gmail to:

  • Auto-complete contacts from your device when you write messages
  • Access your photo library only when you attach photos to your messages
Hide bottom navigation

When this setting is on, the bottom navigation bar is hidden when you scroll. When the setting is off, the bottom navigation bar stays on your screen as you scroll.

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