Conversation view is one of those Mail features people tend to either love or hate. It folds related replies into a single item, which keeps the inbox shorter but can make a message seem missing or make it harder to tell what arrived when. There is no right way to arrange this. Mail lets you choose between grouped conversations and a separate row for every message, and you can change your mind whenever you want.
Turn off conversation view on an iPhone or iPad
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Apps.
- Tap Mail.
- Scroll to the Threading section.
- Turn off Organize by Thread.
Return to the Mail app, and the messages in each conversation should now appear as separate items in your message list. This setting affects Apple’s Mail app on that device. It does not change how messages appear in the Gmail or Outlook apps, or on your email provider’s website.
Turn off conversation view on a Mac
- Open the Mail app.
- Choose View in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
- Click Organize by Conversation so there is no checkmark next to it.
If you like conversation view but want Mail to show every message inside each conversation, leave Organize by Conversation turned on and choose View → Expand All Conversations instead.
Conversation view is different from Mail categories
On an iPhone or iPad, the Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions categories sort messages by type. That is separate from conversation view, which groups replies from the same email exchange. Turning off Organize by Thread will not remove those categories. My guide to Apple Mail’s categories and other newer features explains how they work and how to switch back to List View.
Changing conversation view does not delete, move, or alter any email. You can turn it back on whenever you want.