iOS 8 Mail: Customizing Swipe Gestures

Apple's Mail app on the iPhone and iPad includes a couple handy gestures that let you flag messages, set them as read, or toss them in the trash. But what if those gestures don't do exactly what you want? iOS 8 lets you change them, and it's easy to do.

To change the left and right swipe gestures in iOS 8's Mail app, do this:

  • Tap Settings
  • Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars
  • Tap Swipe Options

iOS 8 lets you change the swipe gestures for MailiOS 8 lets you change the swipe gestures for Mail

You can set the left and right swipe options from here so Mark as Read and Flag are attached to the gesture you prefer, and you can disable either from appearing, too. You can't, however, change where the Trash and More options show up.

Changing Mail's swipe settings can be useful depending on if you're right or left-handed, how you hold your iPhone, or if you find you use one option more than the other. If you flag a lot of messages, for example, it might be easier to avoid accidentally deleting an email you'd rather not lose.