Outlook 365 not purging moved emails from inbox to other folders

Question

Outlook 365 not purging moved emails from inbox to other folders

Marcy F 0

Recently, when Gmail comes into my Microsoft 365 Outlook Inbox folder, if I move an email to another folder and close Outlook, it will not move to the other folder and instead will appear back in my Inbox as a read message. This also happens in the Gmail app. I think there's a setting that needs to be adjusted. I recently switched from Classic Outlook to New Outlook after having other issues with the recent update.

If I use my Gmail app and move a read email from my Gmail Inbox to another folder in Gmail, it does not reappear in my Outlook Inbox. At that point, I can go into Outlook and open the other folder, and the email will be there and I am able to move it to whatever folder I like and it does not reappear in my Outlook Inbox.

How can I manage the settings so email does not reappear in my Inbox after I've moved it to another folder? Thanks for the feedback!

2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Kal-D 4,875 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Marcy F,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A.

In most Gmail + Outlook (IMAP) 'reappearing email' cases, the issue stems from how Gmail's label-based system interacts with IMAP folder operations. A few Gmail IMAP settings can help ensure moves complete cleanly.

1) Make sure All Mail is visible to IMAP

In Gmail (web) > Settings > See all settings > Labels

Find All Mail
Turn on Show in IMAP

If All Mail isn’t IMAP-visible, Outlook can have trouble finalizing an archive/move operation cleanly.

2) Fix the IMAP “deleted/expunge” behavior

In Gmail (web) > Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP > IMAP access

Review “When I mark a message in IMAP as deleted” and Auto-Expunge
If messages seem to “come back,” try enabling Auto-Expunge to help Gmail finalize deletions more reliably during IMAP operations.

3) In Outlook for Windows: let sync complete before closing

After moving a message, wait a few seconds for IMAP sync to finish
If using New Outlook and the issue persists: Settings > Accounts > Manage > Remove, then re-add Gmail"

For reference: Known issues syncing Google accounts to the Microsoft Cloud

Note: After changing Gmail settings, close/reopen Outlook and test by moving a new message. Also confirm in Gmail on the web whether the message is still in Inbox. If it is, the Inbox label wasn’t removed (so it will keep reappearing in Outlook).

Please let me know if this proves useful to you, or if you would like further assistance.

I'm looking forward to your reply.

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Kal-D 4,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-26T23:04:09.4966667+00:00

Hi Marcy F,

I am writing to see how things are going with this issue.

If there’s anything else I can assist you with or if you need further clarification, please don’t hesitate to let me know, I’m here to help.

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Marcy F 0 Reputation points

2026-02-27T14:54:08.5566667+00:00

Hi Kal-D, thanks for checking in and sorry to take time to respond. I was trying to figure out the issue I was having with the IMAP settings before getting back to you but I failed. In step 1 of your directions above, All Mail is IMAP visible as are all other Gmail folders EXCEPT the Inbox one. The Inbox setting does not allow me to toggle it to the Show In IMAP setting. In step 2 above, IMAP access is set to "Auto Expunge on" already but I am not able to adjust the setting for "When a message is marked as deleted and expunged fromthe last visible IMAP folder" options (though there is a gray dot to "archive the message (default)"). I have not tried to uninstall and reinstall my gmail account yet, I'm guessing that's probably the next step?
Kal-D 4,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-02T22:19:21.97+00:00
Hi Marcy F,

Thanks for checking those Gmail IMAP settings. What you're seeing there is expected:

Inbox not having a "Show in IMAP" toggle is normal (it's a system label in Gmail and isn't controlled the same way as user-created labels).

If Auto-Expunge is already ON, it's also normal for some of the "marked as deleted/expunged…" options to appear greyed out.

Since All Mail is already set to "Show in IMAP" and Auto-Expunge is enabled, the next best step is to refresh the Outlook ↔ Gmail sync connection.

Next step (New Outlook for Windows)

Open New Outlook > Settings (gear icon)

Go to Accounts > Your accounts

Select your Gmail account > Manage > Remove

Restart Outlook, then Add the Gmail account back using the Google sign-in prompt

After re-adding, test by moving a couple of new emails and leave Outlook open briefly so it can finish syncing before closing.

If the issue continues

Right after you move an email in Outlook (while Outlook is still open), immediately check Gmail on the web:

If the message is still in Gmail Inbox, it still has the Inbox label so Outlook will continue showing it in Inbox.

If it's not in Gmail Inbox but reappears only in Outlook, that points to a sync or rule issue. At that point, we'd also check for any Gmail filters or Outlook rules that might be moving it back.

Please let me know:

What you see in Gmail web Inbox immediately after the move

Whether the issue continues after removing and re-adding the account

Looking forward to your update!
Marcy F 0 Reputation points

2026-03-03T22:01:55.1333333+00:00

Kal-D, thank you so much for following up with this advice! I actually switched back to Classic Outlook and did some updates and that seems to have resolved my issues at this point. I realized that the New Outlook wasn't displaying emails that were more than two years old and that presented a further problem for me. Again, I really appreciate all of your feedback.
Kal-D 4,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-04T15:19:34.2466667+00:00

Hi Marcy F,

I'm glad to hear that your situation got resolved.

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you need assistance in the future.

Best Regards.

Answer 2

It seems like the issue you're experiencing with emails reappearing in your Outlook Inbox after moving them to another folder could be related to how the Autodiscover process interacts with your Gmail account settings in Outlook. When using Gmail with Outlook, it's important to ensure that the Autodiscover settings are correctly configured to avoid unexpected behavior.

Here are a few suggestions to manage your settings:

Check Autodiscover Settings: Ensure that your Outlook is properly configured to connect to your Gmail account. You can use the Microsoft Remote Connectivity Analyzer to test the Autodiscover process and verify that it is not retrieving incorrect settings from a third-party server.
IMAP Settings: Make sure that your Gmail account is set up using IMAP in Outlook. This allows for better synchronization between your Gmail and Outlook. If your account is set up as a POP account, it may cause issues with email management.
Review Filters and Rules: Check if there are any filters or rules in Outlook that might be affecting how emails are moved or displayed. Sometimes, filters can cause emails to reappear in the Inbox after being moved.
Update Outlook: Since you mentioned switching to the New Outlook, ensure that you have the latest updates installed, as updates can fix bugs and improve functionality.

If the problem persists, you may want to consider reaching out to Microsoft support for further assistance with your specific configuration.

References:

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Outlook 365 not purging moved emails from inbox to other folders

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