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How to delegate access to a Gmail account or how to access a delegated Gmail account

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Granting delegated access in Gmail

You can add up to 10 delegates. If you're using Gmail through your work, school, or other organization, you can add up to 25 delegates within your organization.

  1. On your computer, open Gmail. You can't add delegates from the Gmail app.
  2. In the top right, click Settings Settings and then See all settings.
  3. Click the Accounts and Import or Accounts tab.
  4. In the "Grant access to your account" section, click Add another account.
  5. Enter the email address of the person you want to add.
  6. Click Next Step and then Send email to grant access.

The person you added will get an email asking them to confirm. It may take up to 24 hours for them to see you as a delegated account after they confirm.

To access a delegated email account

Log in to your Google Mail account. Click your account photo or the circle with your first initial in it (located in the upper-right corner of the page). From the drop-down menu, select the desired delegated account. A new window or tab will open displaying the delegated account.

What your delegate can do

Delegates can do things like:

  • Send or reply to emails that were sent to you. When they send a message, their email address will show. For example, the sender will show as "sent by johnsmith@gmail.com."
  • Read messages sent to you
  • Delete messages sent to you

Delegates can't do things like:

  • Chat with anyone for you
  • Change your Gmail password