Quick answer: In the iPhone Mail app, tap the Reply button and choose Remind Me to bring an email back at a set time, or Flag it to keep it handy. Save attachments to Files, and copy out the one detail you need, like a booking number, so you're not digging for the email later.
Written for iOS 18 and iOS 26. Menu names can differ slightly on older versions.
Leaving an email unread "so you remember it" works until the inbox has hundreds. Here are better ways to keep the important ones.
Use Remind Me
- Open the email and tap the Reply button.
- Tap Remind Me and pick a time.
The email jumps back to the top of your inbox at that time. You can also swipe on the email in the list, or say "Hey Siri, remind me about this" while it's open to create a reminder linked to it.
Flag it
Swipe left on the email and tap Flag, or tap Reply → Flag. Flagged emails collect in the Flagged mailbox, which you can add to your mailbox list.
Save attachments where they belong
Touch and hold an attachment and choose Save to Files. Tickets go to Wallet when there's an "Add to Apple Wallet" option. Saving PDFs and files.
Pull out the one detail you need
Often you need one line from an email: a confirmation number, an address, a phone number. Copy it into a note or saving app with a clear name. Finding "Hotel confirmation 48213" is faster than searching your inbox for which hotel email it was in.
Make important senders VIPs
Open an email from someone important, tap their name, and choose Add to VIP. Their messages appear in a separate VIP mailbox, and you can set special notifications for them.
Use search well
Mail search covers sender, subject and body text. Searching a sender's name plus one word ("Airbnb Lisbon") is usually faster than scrolling.
Download Snugit and keep the details from your emails one search away.