In Gmail, if I click on Inbox, I see all the messages in my Inbox, but none show the inbox label. If I search for in:inbox, I see the same messages, but now each shows the inbox label. If I click on All Mail, the messages in my inbox are included in the results, and each has an inbox label. If I click on a message (regardless of whether it's in my Inbox) and select the Labels drop-down menu, there's no inbox label for me to choose. Why is the inbox label only sometimes visible?I find the read label especially confusing. Searching for label:read shows all my read mail, but none of the messages has a read label on it. There's no Read label listed in the left-hand navigation area, but if I try to create a label named Read, I'm told Sorry, you can't create a label named read (it's a reserved system label). As is the case with inbox, the Labels dropdown doesn't offer a read option. What's the story with the seemingly-invisible read label?
Why are Gmail's inbox and read labels only sometimes visible?
gmail;gmail labels