How to Delete an Individual Message in Gmail

Gmail thinks in conversations. This is great as it lets you see each message in its context with precursors and follow-ups. This is also great as it lets you trash entire conversations with two clicks (More Actions ... | Move to Trash).

Delete the Message, Keep the Conversation

Sometimes, however, deleting entire conversations in one swoop may not be what you want. What if there's a particular message that is really not worthy of belonging to that conversation? What if Gmail has lumped together a messages that don't go together well, some of them ripe for deletion?

Delete an Individual Message in Gmail

To delete just one message (even from a conversation) in Gmail:

• Open the conversation that contains the message you want to delete.
• Expand the desired message.
• Click the down arrow next to Reply in the message's title bar.
  • If you see no Reply and no arrow, click More Options.
• Select Delete this message.