Unlike nice desktop, iphone in MAIL, my inner folders I create are expanded, not collapsed.

On the Desktop, 10 main folders for an email account, and in there say each has 20 inside. On desktop by default they collapse.-- hunky dory.

I asked Apple rep while back why iphone not collapse, just said way it is.

Is there a solution, 3rd party app to collapse Mail folders on IOS?

As it TOTALLY UNUSABLE / impossible to scroll though my hundreds of expanded folder to find things on iphone IOS Mail app. Thanks

You might try Airmail 4. There are versions for MacOS, iOS, and WatchOS. it is far more configurable and flexible than Apple Mail.

Thanks Joe, I was not looking to leave Apple Mail, just like the folders collapsed. Have you noticed that, all folders per force expanded?

But who knows actually if just iphone and syncs fine with others...and does that.. So I'll send email to developer if I can...

Since Mail is bundled with iOS you send feedback here.

I just updated my iOS to 14.2. I don't know if it was always there or just arrived with this update, but after my email address in iOS Mail there is a blue disclosure arrow/semi-triangle. Clicking on it expands or collapses all folders for that email address.

Ira! Wow, can you send screenshot?

The most annoying feature by far of Apple Mail on iphone.

I actually tried Airmail, which Joe pointed out, but too convoluted to test so gave up, just doing Mail again.

Here is a before and after screen shot of a collapsed iOS Mail account. In the after shot there is nothing below the grayed out email address.

Ira , no screenshot.

If I click on the link in my post (on the word "Here") it takes me to imgur.com and the screen shot.

Thanks Ira, did not see there was live link there. Small one word text hard to see..

Don't' understand, says something about 3"?

I'm on 14.2.. is that current or need to upgrade IOS? And then wont be crazy expanded?

I mention the "3" as a marker for comparing the before and after. In the before image there are 3 messages in the Inbox and you see all the other mail folders below. In the after image you still see the "3" indicating the messages in the Inbox, but there is nothing shown below; all the other folders are hidden.

I am seeing and doing all of this on iOS 14.2, so you should see what I see.

Ira thanks, I think we are talking about different things. So below archive at bottom, thats where my several hundred folders start and they are all forced expanded open without any option to collapse.

Hmm. In my case all folders collapse, including ones I have created. It may be a function of your email provider that user created folders will always display??

Ira thanks, well email provider, Fastmail, I'll now ask them about this, if they are culprit. I assumed was ios issue.

Ok Ira, finally got answer from company that does my Mail, Fastmail:

Hi Kevs!
Thanks for getting back to me.
I see you're using your phone's native mail client. This is something I'm afraid we do not have control over appearance-wise, as this is designed by Apple. I do not believe it's possible to collapse folders on the iOS mail client, sadly.
I do recommend submitting this as a feature request with Apple, though, as their support team would be able to share your feedback with Apple developers.
If I can help with anything else, please let me know!
Cheers,
this is the screenshot I sent thiem: any ideas?

https://imgur.com/K2dJUkJ

The response from Fastmail was not 100% clear: "I do not believe it's possible to collapse folders on the iOS mail client…". I think they are saying what I said, specifically, custom user-created folders in the Fastmail account cannot be collapsed. Judging by your screen shot, that is what they appear to be.

As my earlier posts indicate, it is possible to collapse all other mail folders in iOS.

The only other thought would be to use Fastmail's iOS app (if they have one; they do for Macs) and see if that makes a difference. You would then possibly trade one inconvenience for another.

Thanks Ira.

Ok, I have no interest in using another ios app but maybe I should try that?

Still totally lost.

You are saying despite that email of which they (this one guy) put all the blame onto Apple for these hundred of folders being ridiculously expanded per force.

So fastmail is wrong, not Apple doing that it's Fastmail, even though that guys reply says Apple is the culprit?

There is one guy there I trust more at Fastmail, I'll see if I can get him into the picture.

The ability to collapse folders is a function of the email client (Mail) not the email host (Fastmail). Viewed in that light Fastmail's response seems perfectly clear. Fastmail does offer an email client for iOS, but I have no idea if it supports collapsing user created folders or not.

Thanks Joe for c!earity Do you find it odd then Apple Mail IOS. you have hundreds of folders on iphone all expanded as default? Pretty crazy to me. Make is usable, cant get to anything!

(just unusable finding things in those folders; seeing/ answering incoming mail is fine)

No, that is not what I was saying. I agree with Fastmail that it is an Apple problem (from my very limited developer experience). I was saying that the problem seems to exist only for folders/mailboxes that are created by the user outside of Apple Mail. But I can see how Apple could say we can't control mailboxes created outside of our app and developers could say we can't control mailboxes in Apple's app.

Ira,

I creat all these FOLDER inside Apple Mail, I'm in Apple Mail, I click new folder, where else would I be creating these??

Assuming it is an IMAP account, Mail physically creates those folders on the Fastmail IMAP server. Which is why they are present no matter where or how you view the account. The problem is not how the folders are created, or where they physically reside, it is how they are displayed. On the Mac, Mail can collapse the folder display by taking advantage of functionality found in Finder, but since Finder does not exist per. se. in iOS or iPadOS, that functionality is not available to Mail, in those venues and no available functionality to collapse the display.

iPhone AND iPad II.


The MAIL app on the iPad II (dinosaur, I know) does the same thing, The default is to expand all folders.

The OTHER annoying thing, I recently discovered, is that if a new folder is added, it cannot later be deleted. Its contents can be deleted (or moved to another folder), but the now empty folder remains . . . forever, it seems.

If it is an IMAP account, the folder is created on the host IMAP server and can be deleted from Mail on the Mac or from the host's internet webmail portal which effectively removes it on all devices.

O-o-o-o. I actually understood what you meant. (Pat myself on the back.)


That "stubborn" folder only shows up in MAIL on the iPad II and not in MAIL on my desktop iMac. Will check out the directions you offered. Thanks.


UPDATE: Checked the server. The "stubborn" folder does not show up there, either. It seems only to be stuck in MAIL on the iPad II. Any other ideas?

Thanks JOe, good explanation. Is this hopeless or IOS can one day have as default folders collapsed was on normal computer?

Finder, including Spotlight, and true multi-tasking are the principal differences between MacOS and iOS/iPadOS. Eliminating those functionalities permits iPhones and iPads to get by with as little as 1GB of memory and 16GB of storage with sufficient battery capacity to last all day. Certainly it is possible that hardware size and power requirements capable of running full featured MacOS in an iPhone form factor will someday be available, but that will probably require an order of magnitude reduction in the size of the die and achieving that could potentially require a major change in the technologies used to manufacture the chip or in the chip itself. That will happen, the technological feasibility was demonstrated in the '90s, but no one has figured out how to manufacture it — yet.

THIS JUST IN: As I was writing this post, I was installing iOS/iPadOS 14.3 and decided to take another look at Apple's attempt at Finder for iOS/iPadOS, Find before posting. Find has definitely improved since the last time I looked at it. Lo and Behold it does offer some of the collapse & expand folder display features of Finder on the Mac — not all of them and not 100% the same but definitely usable. Therefore it would appear there may well be APIs that could provide a semblance of the functionality you desire if they were used in Mail or third part apps. Now all you need is for Apple to integrate those APIs into Mail. If you can get 1,000 to 1,500 or so, of your friends to request that feature, it could well appear in iOS/iPadOS 15 or 16.

If you have chosen not to use iCloud for Mail on your Mac (or vice versa with the iPhone), then the folder may not show up. Check your Settings>Apple ID>(sidebar) iCloud and see if Mail is checked under "Apps on this Mac using iCloud".

In Mail on MacOS on the the Mail menu bar under Messages there is an option to "Synchronize All Accounts" that is intended to clean up mis-matches like you are seeing on your iPhone. As I don't use Mail on my iOS devices I can't verify whether this option is available in that venue or not, but you might look for it in Settings > Mail.

Theoretically that should also be cleared up if all of your devices are set to synchronize Mail through your Apple ID (iCloud).

• ON YOUR MAC: look under System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud
• ON YOUR IPHONE: look under Settings > Your Name > iCloud

and be sure Mail is checked (✓) in both places. But be aware that synchronization is not necessarily immediate and can sometimes take up to a day or two. 🤷‍♂️

I don't see that under Messages but under Mailbox there is an option to "Synchronize (my wife's account)". What does that do? I could not find an answer in Mail Help. (Her account is IMAP and mine is POP, if that makes any difference.)

It makes all the difference. POP is an elderly protocol designed to support a single user on a single device. In that environment, synchronization is a non-sequitur. IMAP is deigned around the assumption the user will be accessing the account from multiple devices and wants each of them to have all of the same content, so synchronization is the point. It assures that what your wife sees in Mail on her iPhone is exactly what she would see in Mail on her Mac at home, her PC at the office, and in the webmail interface at an internet café.

My iMAC does not have anything called APPLE ID in System Preferences.

Doesn't really matter, though, since I have never signed up for iCloud in the past, nor do I wish to do so in the present.

You don't see this or maybe something similar depending upon your version of macOS?

No. There is a "sign in" button in the upper right-hand corner. When I click on it, I am asked to create an iCloud Account - which I do not want.

The image you provided, I suspect, only shows up for those who have created an account, then; subsequently, sign in.

Maybe. It's been ages, and I"ve got no idea what I saw originally.

If you have an Apple ID, purchased an app from the App Store, purchased or played a tune in Music, registered an Apple Device, sent an iMessage (as opposed to an SMS/MMS text), or activated Find my… on any Apple device; you have an iCloud account including 5GB of iCloud storage space. The net cost to you for all of this is $0.00.

That doesn't appear to be true in all cases.

I can login to the Apple Store. BUT, if I want(ed) to use the iCloud, I cannot just sign in there. I am asked to CREATE an iCloud account, which I have not done - according to Apple. So it would seem that while I have an Apple account, I do not automatically become an iCloud member unless I open an iCloud account.