Gmail’s new filters on Android will make it easier to dig up old emails

Gmail brings its search filters from the web to Android.

What you need to know

• Google has begun rolling out new search filters to its mobile app for Android.
• The filters allow you to sort emails by sender or time frame.
• These capabilities were released to Gmail on the web last year.

Gmail‘s search capabilities on Android are getting a significant update that will narrow results to help you find a specific email. The app’s new search filters were first rolled out on the web last year, with the goal of simplifying the way you sort through large amounts of search results.

The new update to one of the best Android apps introduces a variety of filters that allow you to search through emails by sender or time frame. You can further refine the results by choosing to view only emails with attachments.

These search filters will show up right below the search box in the app. You can tap any of the four buttons, including “From,” “Sent to,” Date,” and “Attachments,” independently or post-search.

Gmail will also display a list of suggested senders when you search for emails from a specific contact. Alternatively, there’s an option to look for emails from multiple senders at the same time.

Google launched a similar capability to Gmail on the web last year in the form of search chips. In addition to searching by a sender’s name or time, the feature lets you filter emails by attachment type and exclude certain results such as calendar invites.

With the most recent update to its mobile app, Gmail no longer requires manual search filters (for example, label:work). The previous trick appeared to be some kind of hack only available to Gmail power users.

The new feature is available on all Workspace tiers as well as to G Suite Basic and Business customers. Google is gradually rolling out the filters, with the release set to be completed by the end of October.