Can you make Gmail filters in the Android app? What to do instead

By Abu Bakar Saadat · Reviewed by Saadat Rafiq · 2 min read · 3 steps · Published 7 October 2026

Device

Android

Shown on

Samsung Galaxy A57 5G (SM-A576B), One UI 8.5, Android 16

App

Gmail

Real screenshots

2 of 3 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

1 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Look in the account settings

   Gmail, menu, Settings, your account: there are Inbox type, Notifications, Manage labels and more, but no Filters.

   Done

2. 

   Check the menu

   The three dots at the top right offer only Manage accounts and Help & feedback (Manage accounts is hidden by our blur).

   Done

3. Make the filter on a computer

   Open mail.google.com in a browser on a computer, click the options icon in the search box, fill in the sender or words and click Create filter. The filter then works for all mail, including what the app shows.

   Done

About this guide

Filters sort, label or delete incoming mail automatically. We looked through every settings screen in the Android app on our phone. Our Gmail account is a real one, so addresses, senders and subjects are blurred; the only mail we touched was a test message we sent to ourselves.

The screenshots are from Chrome and the Gmail app on a Samsung Galaxy A57 5G with Android 16 and One UI 8.5, in dark mode. Both apps look the same on other Android phones; only the phone's own settings screens differ by brand.

Good to know

Manage labels in the app shows the labels a filter files mail under, and sets notifications per label.

If mail goes missing, an old filter is a common cause: Gmail not getting new emails on Android.

In short: No filters in the Android app. Use mail.google.com on a computer, Create filter; it applies everywhere.