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How to Star Important Emails in Gmail

Starring an email in Gmail flags it for later without moving it out of your inbox, and starred messages are always one click away in their own folder.

  1. Click the star icon next to an email

    In your inbox list, click the empty star-shaped icon on the right side of any message.

  2. Confirm the star turns solid yellow

    Once clicked, the star fills in yellow, marking that message as important.

  3. Click 'Starred' in the left-hand menu

    Clicking Starred in the sidebar shows only the messages you've starred, gathered in one place.

  4. Turn on multiple star types (optional)

    Under Settings β†’ General β†’ Stars, you can add icons like an exclamation point or a heart alongside the yellow star to distinguish different levels of importance.

  5. Why this is worth knowing

    Even when an inbox is overflowing with messages, starring the important ones means you can find them again instantly in the Starred folder without scrolling or searching.

A lighter-weight alternative to folders and labels

Gmail's labels are powerful for long-term organization, but creating and applying one for a single email you just need to come back to later can feel like overkill. Starring solves that lighter, more immediate need -- one click flags a message as worth revisiting, without requiring you to decide on a category or move it anywhere. The message stays exactly where it was, just with a visible marker attached.

Using more than one star to mean different things

By default, Gmail only offers a single yellow star, which works fine if 'important' is a single category for you. Turning on multiple star types in Settings adds a small rotation of icons -- clicking the star repeatedly cycles through options like an exclamation point, a red star, or a heart -- which lets you build a lightweight, personal system for distinguishing, say, urgent items from ones you just want to reference later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does starring a message move it out of my inbox?

No -- starring only adds a marker to the message. It stays in your inbox (or wherever it already is) exactly as before, and also appears in the separate Starred view.

Can I search for only starred emails?

Yes, typing 'is:starred' into Gmail's search bar returns only messages you've starred, which works the same as clicking the Starred folder in the sidebar.