Remove Duplicate Emails in Gmail – Free Tips & Tricks

Email is one of the most effective forms of communication and is now an integral part of the corporate world. And, Gmail, with millions of users worldwide, is the most popular email platform with both free and paid plans available. Sometimes, users want to remove duplicate emails in Gmail. Although it has some impeccable features, Gmail does not explicitly provides a duplicate remover of any sort. So, the users are to find the solutions themselves.

In this blog, we will shed light on two techniques that a user can use to delete duplicate emails from Gmail account. Hopefully, after reading this, users will be able to find and get rid of duplicate data. It will free up the space and even get rid of Gmail storage quota exceeded problem.

2 Methods to Remove Duplicate Emails in Gmail

Gmail has a lot of user-friendly features. Although it does not provide a built-in remover mechanism for duplicate items, users can apply filters to find Gmail duplicates. Plus, one can even configure the Gmail account in desktop email clients like Mozilla Thunderbird, Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail, etc. and remove duplicates from there. It will indirectly affect the Gmail mailbox and hence the duplicate data can be deleted without any concerns.

All in all, the two methods to delete duplicate emails in Gmail are:

1. Using Filters to Find Duplicates in Gmail
2. Using IMAP to Remove Duplicate Emails in Gmail

The methods are further divided into steps to make the process easier to understand. These are mentioned below in detail.

Method 1 – Use Filters to Find Duplicates in Gmail

To start, we will first find the duplicate emails. Afterward, we will delete them.

Step 1:

1. First, sign in to the Gmail account.
2. Then, open the mailbox having duplicates.
3. After that, type the “email address” or “words” copied from the duplicate emails.
4. Press the Enter
5. Now, all the similar emails will be filtered out in a list.

Step 2:

1. Select all the duplicate emails that you want to remove.
2. Then, click the Delete

Note: If the duplicate emails are banded together in a thread, it will be difficult to find and delete them individually. Users can click on the Gear icon and scroll down to the Email Threading option. Here, disable the Conversation view to see the emails separately and not in threads.

If this method is hectic and is unable to resolve the issue, users can opt for the next method.

Method 2 – Using IMAP to Remove Duplicate Emails in Gmail

This method makes use of Microsoft Outlook to delete duplicate emails in Gmail. It also has several steps to get the job done.

Please try the following steps with dummy account first i.e., a new account for testing purpose having unimportant data. Only after confirmation that the method works for you, execute the steps for the complete process.

Step 1: Configuration

Here, we will configure the Gmail account in Outlook. Skip, if done already.

1. In Gmail, click on Gear button >> See All Settings >> Forwarding & POP/IMAP tab >> Enable IMAP >> Save
2. In Outlook 2016/2019, go to File >> + Add Account.
3. Type in proper Gmail credentials and continue till the account is successfully added to Outlook.

Step 2: Remove duplicate emails in Gmail

• Find the Outlook data file in File >> Account Settings >> Account Settings >> Data Files and note the location where Outlook stores the data file of the configured Gmail account.

• Now, we quite Outlook and launch the tool to remove duplicate emails in Outlook.

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• Click on Add File button, select the Gmail data file from the location noted above and click Open.

• Then, choose the Within folders option and click on the Next.

• In the next window, specify the destination location to save the file and ensure that everything is selected on the folder list.

• After that, specify specific criteria to remove duplicate emails in Gmail mailbox, and click the Next button to start the process.

• After successful completion, click on OK.

• The tool generates a PST file containing only the unique data from de-duplication.

Step 3: Import the file

1. Empty the Gmail mailbox in the browser.
2. Close Gmail and Open Outlook.
3. Choose to Import the PST file in Outlook within the Gmail account.
4. Then, let the email synchronize completely.
5. Now, since the PST file was free of duplicate items, after importing Gmail mailbox will not have any duplicate emails.

Final Verdict

The blog contains two methods to remove duplicate emails in Gmail. Using filters is a time-consuming option, but it is free from any risk. The second method actually involves the desktop email client and may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But if the user uses Outlook, then it is pretty easy to understand and execute. Do try to implement the methods on a dummy account first to delete duplicate emails from Gmail account. This will prevent any mishappenings.