The dot next to an inbox in the sidebar means new mail has arrived there that you have not looked at yet. It is the same dot an unread conversation shows in the list, with no count and no color. It clears when you open the new conversations, when the list that shows them is on screen, or when you click it.
Where it appears
- On the inbox switcher above Compose, when any inbox has something new, and on each inbox row inside it.
- Next to each inbox in the Inbox Stack, where the dot is a small button labeled Mark as seen. On a closed folder it means an inbox inside has something new.
- On the inbox icon at the top of the folded sidebar.
When it shows
At least one conversation in that inbox meets all four. New mail reached it through live sync after your seen point for that inbox, and it arrived in the last 30 days. It is unread for you, and it is still live (not archived, trashed, snoozed, spam or deleted). Anything the team sends, notes, assignments and history imported at connect time never count.
What clears it
- Opening the new conversation or marking it read, from any list, search, the assistant, or in Gmail and Outlook when read sync is on.
- A list on screen that shows the new conversation, in the tab you are looking at.
- Clicking the dot in the stack, or picking the inbox in the switcher.
- The conversation being archived, trashed, snoozed or deleted.
Marking a conversation unread again, moving it back from Archive or a snooze ending does not bring the dot back, because none of those is new mail.