Google adds ‘Mark as Read’ shortcut to Gmail notifications on Android

Gmail

Google is making life a little easier for Gmail users on Android. The company is quietly rolling out a new feature that lets you mark emails as read directly from the notification panel — without even opening the app.

Until now, Gmail notifications on Android only offered quick actions like “Reply” and either “Archive” or “Delete.” But with this new “Mark as read” button, handling emails just got a lot simpler, especially for those messages you don’t need to reply to but don’t want cluttering your inbox as unread.

The option appears as the first button in the notification actions, letting users quickly clear the unread badge without taking bigger steps like deleting or archiving the message. It’s a small but super useful change for people who get tons of emails every day.

The update hasn’t rolled out widely yet. According to a report by Android Authority, only a couple of users have spotted the new button over the past week, suggesting it’s a limited server-side rollout for now. Google is known to take its time rolling out updates like this to all users, so it might be a while before everyone gets it.

At the same time, Google is also gradually rolling out its Material 3 Expressive redesign for Gmail on Android. That update brings visual changes, new colors, and a more modern look.

So, if you don’t see the “Mark as read” option yet, don’t worry — it’s likely on the way.