Gmail is one of the widely used email services. While it’s quite easy to use and offers a user-friendly interface, users often get confused with unfamiliar symbols or icons. If you have been wondering about the meaning of a certain icon in Gmail, we are here to help. Let’s check the meaning of various symbols and icons in Gmail.
Tip: You can know the meaning of an icon in Gmail by hovering your mouse over it on a PC or long-touching the icon on mobile apps.
Meaning of Icons in Gmail Mobile App
Home screen Icons
Arrows Before the Sender Name: A double (>>) arrow indicates that the email has only one recipient whereas a single arrow (>) means that the email has multiple recipients.
Star icon next to emails: Tap this icon to add the email to the starred folder. For the unaware, Starred is a special pre-created folder in your account where you can keep your important or favorite emails that you want to access regularly and quickly. Open the navigation drawer i.e., tap the three-bar icon and select the Starred folder to view your starred emails.
Video camera icon at Bottom: Use this icon to open the Google Meet service within the Gmail app. You can use it to video call people or schedule meetings.
Icons on the Email Screen
Icons at the Top
Down Arrow in a Box: Tap this icon to archive the email.
Trash: Use this icon to delete the email.
Envelope with Dot: Tap this icon to mark the email as unread.
Three-Dot: Tap this to open the menu.
Smiley: Tap this to open the emoji panel from where you can react to the email. You will find this icon at the bottom as well.
Back Arrow: Use this icon to reply to the email.
Three-Dot: Opens menu.
Icons at the Bottom
Paper Clip: Tap the icon to attach a photo, video, or document to the email.
Back Arrow: This icon lets you forward, reply, and change email recipients. Tap on this icon to choose the desired opinion.
Forward Arrow: Use this icon to forward the email.
Smiley: Tap this to send an emoji reaction.
Icons on Compose Screen
Paper Clip: Tap this icon to attach a file from your phone or Google Drive.
Triangular Arrow Icon: Use this to send the email.
Three-Dot: This icon opens the menu.
Arrow Icon Next to From and To Fields: Tap this icon to change the sender and recipient emails.
Meaning of Icons on Gmail Web
Icons on the Main Screen
Icons at The Top
Three-bar Icon: This icon shows or hides the Gmail folders panel.
Filter Icon in Search Bar: This icon lets you perform an advanced search in Gmail. You can specify various criteria such as sent from, to, subject, size, has an attachment or not, etc., to find the desired email easily and quickly.
Settings Cog: This icon will open the settings screen.
9-Dotted Icon: Use this icon to see the list of Google apps.
Star Icon: This icon will show up if you have a Google One subscription and lets you access Gemini AI features within Gmail. A similar icon with a pen is also present on the compose box.
Icons Above the Email List
Box With Down Arrow: Click this icon to select all emails or according to some filter like read, starred, etc.
Circle with Arrow: Click this to refresh the page.
Three-Dot: Opens the menu.
Arrows: Use the arrows to open the next and previous page.
Keyboard: Change input language.
Icons Before the Email Sender’s Name
6 Circle Icon: This icon will appear when you move the mouse pointer near the square box. It lets you move the selected email to any other folder.
Square Box: Use this icon to select the email.
Star Icon: The empty star icon lets you favorite an email. Once you star an email by clicking on it, the icon will turn yellow. You will find all the starred emails under the Starred folder.
Right Arrow: The arrow pointing towards the right next to the sender’s name is the important marker for emails. Basically, Gmail marks certain messages as important using AI technology called Google Magic. You will see a yellow/gold-colored icon if Gmail considers an email important and a hollow arrow icon if an email is considered unimportant.
Arrows Within the Big Arrow: Within the importance indicator, you will find another arrow icon. A double (>>) arrow indicates you are the only recipient of the email, whereas a single arrow (>) means that the email has more than one recipient. These arrows are called Personal level indicators and can be turned off in Gmail Settings > General > Personal level indicators.
Icons After the Email Subject
Box with Down Arrow: This icon lets you archive an email. For the unaware, when you archive an email, it will be hidden from the main inbox and go to the All Mail folder where it will stay until you unarchive it or you receive a reply on the same email. Archive is a subtle form of deleting an email without actually deleting it. Find out the difference between archive and delete in Gmail.
Trash Icon: The Trash icon allows users to delete an email. The deleted email will go to the Bin or Trash folder where it stays for 30 days after which it will get deleted permanently. You can recover the email from the trash within 30 days of deleting it.
Closed or Open Envelope Icon: The closed icon allows you to mark an email as unread. The email will again be highlighted as if it was a new email even if you had already opened it. The open envelope icon lets you mark an email as read without actually opening it.
Clock Icon: The clock icon lets you snooze an email so that you are notified about the email again at the set date and time.
Icons Present Inside an Email
Icons in the Toolbar at the Top of an Email
Box with Down Arrow: This icon lets you archive an email.
Exclamation Mark: This icon lets you report an email as a spam email. A confirmation pop-up will show up where you can Report spam or Report spam and unsubscribe from the sender.
Trash: This icon lets you delete an email.
Envelope with a Dot: Use the icon to mark an email as unread.
Clock Icon: Click this icon to snooze the email.
Checkmark Icon With Add: This icon allows users to create a task in Google Tasks for the selected email. You can access Google Tasks from the side panel on the right side.
Right Arrow in a Folder: Use this icon to move the email to a different folder or label.
Label: Click on the label icon to add, remove, or create new labels.
Icons on the Right Side
Printer Icon: This symbol lets you print a copy of the email.
Arrow Pointing Top-Right Corner: Use this icon to open the current email in a new browser window.
Star Icon: Use this icon to add the email to the starred folder.
Emoji: Click this icon to add an emoji reaction to the email.
Back Arrow: Click on the back arrow to reply to the email.
Icons on New Message or Compose Email Screen
Arrow Next to Send Button: Click on this icon to schedule your email so that it’s sent at a custom time.
A: This symbol opens up the formatting toolbar using which you can bold, italicize, underline the text, and change its color and alignment.
Paper Clip: Use this icon to attach an image, document, video, audio, etc., file to your email.
Link: Click on the link icon to add or remove hyperlinks in your email.
Emoji: The emoji icon lets you insert smileys and emotions in your message.
Google Drive: Click on the Google Drive icon to add or attach files from your Google Drive account.
Photo: The Photo icon lets you insert a photo as an inline image or attachment in your email.
Lock with Clock: This symbol lets you enable Confidential mode which allows you to send secure emails. For the unaware, confidential emails cannot be forwarded, copied, printed, or downloaded. They will also expire automatically after a set time. Furthermore, you can even set a passcode for the sent email.
Mehvish Mushtaq is a tech lover from Kashmir. With a degree in computer engineering, she's always been happy to help anyone who finds technology challenging. She's been writing about technology for over six years, and her favorite topics include how-to guides, explainers, tips and tricks for Android, iOS/iPadOS, Windows, social media, and web apps. You can also find her work on Make Tech Easier, Guiding Tech, and Nerds Chalk
