To snooze an email in Gmail on a computer, point to the email in your inbox, click the Snooze clock icon on the right and choose a day and time. The email disappears from your inbox and comes back to the top when you chose. Find snoozed emails under Snoozed on the left, or search in:snoozed.
Snooze is Gmail's answer to emails you can't deal with yet but don't want to forget. Instead of leaving them clogging your inbox, you send them away and Gmail brings them back at the moment you choose, right at the top. It's one of the simplest ways to keep an inbox calm. Here's how to use it on a computer and phone, and how to find snoozed emails again.
Snooze an email on a computer
- Open Gmail.
- Point to the email in your inbox.
- Click the Snooze icon (a clock) on the right.
- Choose a time, such as later today or tomorrow, or pick your own date and time.
Google says the email is removed from your inbox for now and comes back to the top of your inbox at the time you chose.
Snooze several emails at once
Tick the emails you want to snooze, then click Snooze at the top. If you can't see it, click More and choose Snooze from there. Handy on a Friday afternoon for everything that's really a Monday job, so you start the weekend with a clear inbox and those emails greet you first thing on Monday instead.
Find your snoozed emails
| Where | How |
|---|---|
| Left-hand menu | Click Snoozed |
| Search bar | Type in:snoozed |
If you change your mind, open the email from the Snoozed list and you can deal with it straight away rather than waiting for it to return.
Snooze on your phone
In the Gmail app, open the email, tap the menu (three dots) and choose Snooze, then pick a time. Your snoozed emails appear under the Snoozed label in the app's menu. You can also set a swipe action to snooze, which makes clearing your inbox on the go very quick. Snoozes sync with your account, so an email snoozed on your phone comes back on your computer too.
When to snooze
- Emails about events or deadlines next week: snooze to the day before.
- Requests you can only answer once someone else has replied: snooze for a couple of days.
- Routine admin you do in batches: snooze everything to your weekly admin slot.
- Interesting newsletters: snooze to the weekend when you've time to read.
- Renewal reminders: snooze to a week before the date, so there's time to compare options.
Snooze versus other options
| Option | Best for |
|---|---|
| Snooze | Things you'll act on later and want reminding about |
| Archive | Things that are done but worth keeping |
| Star or label | Things you want to find again, without a reminder |
| Delete | Things you'll never need |
Snooze is the only one of these that brings an email back on its own. That's what makes it so useful: you don't have to remember to remember.
Picking the right snooze time
The suggested times, later today, tomorrow, this weekend and next week, cover most needs, but choosing your own date and time is where snooze gets clever. Snooze a meeting confirmation to arrive an hour before the meeting, so the details are right there. Snooze a supplier's 'we'll get back to you by Wednesday' email to Wednesday afternoon, so you know to chase if nothing's arrived. Snooze a client's request to the morning you've blocked for that project. Think of it as booking a time to deal with the email, rather than hoping you'll remember.
Snooze and your to-do list
If you already use a task list, snooze can feel like a duplicate. The difference is that snooze keeps the original email, with all its context and attachments, and puts it back exactly where you work. For anything that starts and ends in email, a snooze is often better than copying it into a separate task app. For bigger pieces of work with several steps, put the task in your list and archive the email, linking the two if your task app allows it.
Avoid the snooze trap
Snooze works brilliantly until you snooze the same email five times. If something keeps coming back and you keep pushing it away, it either needs doing now or doesn't need doing at all. Make a decision: reply, delegate it, or archive it. Snooze is for timing, not for avoiding, and being honest about which one you're doing is half the battle.
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Build a calmer inbox
Combine snooze with a simple routine: deal with quick emails immediately, snooze anything time-dependent, archive what's done and unsubscribe from what you never read. My guide to AI email summaries looks at how inbox tools are changing the way people read email, and if you want help drafting replies to the emails you've snoozed, my guide to using Gemini in Gmail shows what it can do.
My verdict
Point to an email, click the Snooze clock, pick a time and forget about it until Gmail brings it back to the top of your inbox. Find snoozed emails under Snoozed or with in:snoozed. Use it for timing, not procrastinating, and your inbox will feel half the size.
Frequently asked questions
How do I snooze an email in Gmail?
Point to the email, click the Snooze icon on the right and choose a day and time.
Where do snoozed emails go in Gmail?
They move to the Snoozed folder on the left and come back to the top of your inbox at the time you chose.
How do I find snoozed emails in Gmail?
Click Snoozed in the left-hand menu, or type in:snoozed in the search bar.
Can I snooze several Gmail emails at once?
Yes. Select them and click Snooze at the top, or More, then Snooze.
Can I snooze emails in the Gmail app?
Yes. Open the email, tap the menu and choose Snooze. Snoozed emails appear under the Snoozed label.
