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I have a Gmail filter that applies a label ('OTPs') to certain incoming messages. They accumulate and I want to keep most for only a couple of days.

I can eliminate them manually by performing a search (e.g. 'older_than:2d label:OTPs -label:GST') and then deleting the results, but I want to automate this process using a filter.

The example below shows a highlighted message thread 'SMS Forwarder' that totals 21 individual messages of which only 7 would match my criteria for deletion, and the remaining 14 would be kept.

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  • So, all the messages get forwarded to mail box including OTPs. Now there are 1000s of OTPs sitting there in my mail, which are basically useless now. So, I want to delete them. Now problem with Gmail is, that the filters would work ONLY for the incoming mails, not the existing ones. I want to clear up my inbox by deleting any mail containing the keyword(s) - "OTP" or "One Time Password", including a single mail in a conversation thread. What is the best way to do it?
    – AatmanKothari
    Dec 6, 2021 at 10:20
  • I noticed that you excluded the label GST in your search example in your original post. Are there other labels that will be excluded?
    – Blind Spots
    Dec 7, 2021 at 3:52

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I wrote a Google Apps script that archives threads with labels matching particular patterns: Gmail-archive-after-script. I've been using it for a couple of years now and couldn't bear my inbox without it.

I have not, however, done any testing on what I can do with individual messages in threads, and I'm too much of a coward to actually delete messages automatically.

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Gmail only applies filters to incoming messages. If you want to automate the process, you can use a Google Apps Script.

I have created a script that can be used to delete individual messages based on a custom label that can be manually added or added via a Gmail filter. For example, a message labeled 'delete.in.3.days' would cause a message to be moved to TRASH if at least 3 days old.

I posted the code and installation instructions on Github at GAS-Gmail-Trash-by-Expiry-Label. The script has a Test Mode that allows it to be run without actually making any changes.

The code is long but includes a lot of logging which I prefer.

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