Swipe to dismiss
A horizontal swipe gesture on a list item that removes, archives, or otherwise dismisses it.
Archive
Delete
Archive
Common in mobile mail and messaging apps: swipe a row left or right past a threshold and it's gone. Many implementations reveal action buttons as the row is swiped — short swipe for options, full swipe to commit the default action. Provide an undo affordance, because the gesture is easy to trigger accidentally.
Also called
swipe to deleteswipe to archive
When to use
- Lists where removing or archiving items is a frequent, low-stakes action
- Mobile UIs where dedicated buttons would crowd the row
When not to use
- Lists with irreversible destructive actions and no undo path
- Desktop layouts where horizontal swipe isn't a natural gesture
Related
Source
Apple HIG documents the pattern; iOS Mail's swipe-to-archive is the canonical example.