To disable hover actions in Gmail, open Gmail on a computer, click the Settings gear, click See all settings, scroll down to the Hover actions section, select Disable hover actions, and click Save changes at the bottom of the page. The small icons that appear at the right side of a message when you point at it will stop showing.
These steps follow Google’s Buttons in your Gmail toolbar help article, checked in October 2026. This guide also covers how to turn the icons back on, how to archive, delete, snooze, and mark messages as read without them, and what to check if the setting is missing or does not seem to work.
What Are Gmail Hover Actions?
Hover actions are shortcut icons in the Gmail message list. Google says that with hover actions, when you hover to the right of a message, you can archive, delete, snooze, or mark a message as read. To hover means to rest the mouse pointer on something without clicking it.
The four jobs work like this:
- Archive removes a message from your inbox but keeps it. Google says an archived message can still be found under the All Mail label.
- Delete moves a message to Trash. Google says you can recover it from Trash for up to 30 days, and after that it is permanently deleted.
- Mark as read changes an unread message to read without opening it.
- Snooze hides a message until a time you pick.
The icons are handy for clearing an inbox quickly. The usual reasons to turn them off are that they are easy to click by accident and that they appear over the right end of the message row while the pointer is there.
Before You Start
- Use a computer. Google’s steps begin with “On your computer, open Gmail.” The setting is changed in Gmail in a web browser, not in the Gmail app.
- Check which account is open. If you are signed in to more than one Google Account, make the change in the account where you want the icons gone. Each account has its own Gmail settings.
- Nothing is deleted. This setting only controls whether the icons appear. It does not archive, delete, or change any email.
How to Disable Hover Actions in Gmail
- Open Gmail in a web browser on your computer.
- Click Settings (the gear icon) at the top right. A short panel called Quick settings opens. The hover actions option is not in this panel.
- Click See all settings at the top of that panel. The full Settings page opens with a row of tabs across the top.
- Stay on the first tab, General, and scroll down to the Hover actions section. The page is long, so expect to scroll past several other sections first.
- Select Disable hover actions.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save changes. The setting is not kept if you leave the page without saving.
Google’s help article gives the same five actions but does not name the tab. The Hover actions section is on the General tab, which is the tab that opens first, so you normally do not need to click a tab at all.
How to Check That It Worked
Go back to your inbox and move the pointer over any message. If the change was saved, no icons appear at the right side of the row, and the row looks the same as when the pointer is somewhere else.
If the icons still appear, open Settings > See all settings again and look at the Hover actions section. If Enable hover actions is selected, the change was not saved. Select Disable hover actions once more and make sure you click Save changes before leaving the page.
How to Turn Hover Actions Back On
The change is easy to undo. Open Gmail on a computer, click Settings > See all settings, scroll to Hover actions, select Enable hover actions, and click Save changes. The icons return the next time you point at a message.
How to Manage Emails Without Hover Actions
Turning off the icons does not remove any feature. Google documents three other ways to do the same jobs in Gmail on a computer.
Use the toolbar
The toolbar is the row of buttons above your messages.
- Click the checkbox next to one or more messages, or open a message.
- At the top, click a button: Archive, Report spam, Delete, Mark as unread, or Move to.
- Click More for other options, including Snooze, Add to Tasks, Label as, and Mute.
The toolbar has one advantage over hover actions: it works on several selected messages at once.
Use the right-click menu
Right-click a message in your inbox. Google’s right-click menu article lists Archive, Delete, Mark as read, Mark as unread, and Snooze in that menu, along with reply, forward, label, and mute options. This is the closest replacement for hover actions, because you stay in the message list and the menu only opens when you ask for it.
Use keyboard shortcuts
Google’s keyboard shortcuts list gives these keys for the four hover actions:
| Action | Key |
|---|---|
| Archive | e |
| Delete | # |
| Mark as read | Shift + i |
| Mark as unread | Shift + u |
| Snooze | b |
| Select conversation | x |
Be careful with these. Once shortcuts are on, a single key press can archive or delete the selected message, so they can cause the same accidents you were trying to avoid. A deleted message can be recovered from Trash for up to 30 days, and an archived one is still under All Mail.
Shortcuts like these only work after you turn them on. In See all settings, scroll to the Keyboard shortcuts section, select Keyboard shortcuts on, and click Save Changes. Our guide on how to enable keyboard shortcuts in Gmail walks through it. Google also notes that shortcuts are not supported by all languages or keyboards.
Show words instead of toolbar icons
If the toolbar icons are hard to tell apart, Google lets you show text labels instead. In See all settings, scroll to the Button labels section, select Text, and click Save changes.
What About the Gmail App?
Phones and tablets are used by touch, so there is no pointer to hover with and no hover actions setting in the Gmail app. The app has swipe actions instead, where you slide a message left or right in the list.
- iPhone and iPad: Google’s steps are to open the Gmail app, tap Menu > Settings, then under Inbox tap Inbox customizations > Mail swipe actions. Tap Right swipe or Left swipe and pick an action. The choices include Archive, Trash, Mark as read/unread, Snooze, Move to, and None.
- Android: Google says you can change the right or left swipe from the app’s General settings to archive, delete, mark as read/unread, move to a label, or snooze. Open the app, tap Menu, and go to the settings to find Swipe actions.
Choosing None on iPhone or iPad is the nearest thing to disabling hover actions in the app: swiping that direction then does nothing. Google’s Change your Gmail settings article has the steps for each device.
Troubleshooting
You cannot find the Hover actions section
- Make sure you clicked See all settings. The Quick settings panel that opens from the gear only has a few options, such as density and inbox type.
- Make sure you are on the General tab and keep scrolling. The section is well down the page.
- Press Ctrl + F (or Command + F on a Mac), type hover, and press Enter. Your browser jumps to the section if it is on the page.
- Check that you are in Gmail in a browser on a computer, not in the Gmail app or in another mail program that is connected to your Gmail account.
- On a work or school account, your organization manages Gmail. If the section is not there, ask your administrator.
The icons come back after you save
- Reload the Gmail tab, then check the setting again.
- Confirm you are in the same Google Account. Changing the setting in one account does not change it in another.
- Look at what is actually appearing. A small text box that shows when you point at a button is a tooltip, and icons that show when you point at a label in the left menu belong to the menu. Neither is controlled by the Hover actions setting.
The right-click menu does not open
Google’s fix is to click Settings, select Default under Inbox type in Quick settings, click Customize, select one or more tabs, and click Save. Google adds that the menu may also be unavailable if you have more than 250,000 emails. If it still does not open, use the toolbar instead. Changing the inbox type also changes how your inbox is laid out, which our guide on Gmail tabs and inbox types explains.
You archived or deleted an email by accident
- Archived: click All Mail in the left menu, or search for in:archive. Check the box next to the message and click Move to Inbox.
- Deleted: open Trash in the left menu (click More if you do not see it), select the message, click Move to, and choose Inbox. Do this within 30 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will turning off hover actions change anything else?
No. Disabling hover actions only stops the archive, delete, mark as read, and snooze icons from appearing when you point at a message. Your emails, labels, filters, and other Gmail settings stay the same, and all four actions are still available from the toolbar and the right-click menu. If messages lose their unread status when you only preview them, see how to stop Gmail from marking a conversation as read in the preview pane.
Can I keep some hover icons and remove others?
Google’s help article only documents two choices in the Hover actions section: Enable hover actions and Disable hover actions. It does not describe a way to pick individual icons, so plan on all four being on or all four being off.
Does the setting apply on my other computers?
It should. Gmail settings are tied to your Google Account rather than to one browser, so the change is expected to follow you when you sign in to Gmail on another computer. Google’s hover actions steps do not state this directly, so check the setting on the other computer if the icons still show there.
Can I disable hover actions from my phone?
Not in the Gmail app. Google’s steps for the Hover actions setting are for a computer, and Google notes that some Gmail settings can only be changed on a computer. The app has no hover icons to turn off. Change its swipe actions instead if you are archiving or deleting by accident on a phone.
Why do I see different hover icons than the ones described here?
Google’s current help article lists archive, delete, snooze, and mark as read. If your inbox looks different from what this guide describes, see how to enable the new Gmail for the current layout. The steps for disabling hover actions are the same either way.
Do hover actions make the inbox rows bigger?
No. Row height is controlled by the separate Density option in Quick settings. If your goal is a tidier message list, pair this change with compact view in Gmail.
More Gmail Guides
With the hover icons gone, the toolbar and the right-click menu are the safest ways to act on a message. These guides cover related Gmail settings:
- Do you need to change the way your replies work? Find out how to make reply or reply all your default in Gmail.
- Want to sort your inbox too? See how to create folders (labels) in Gmail.
- How to change the subject line in Gmail
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are tested on current devices or checked against official product documentation, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
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