As an ardent Gmail user, you probably have multiple Gmail accounts to handle your personal and official communications effectively. Gmail allows you to access more than one Gmail account from within a single browser instance, provided you login to each account separately. However, on signing out of one account, you are automatically logged out of all other Google / Gmail accounts too. What if there was a way to check all your Gmail accounts using a single login? Yes, using the ‘Email Delegation’ feature of Gmail, you can manage all Gmail accounts from a main account. You can also allow another user to handle all your mail communications except for chat, while still maintaining your password and other Gmail settings confidential. Be it a trusted friend, spouse or personal assistant, they can access your account from theirs without a password. The delegate will have access to your contact list too. You will be able to delegate your email / Google Apps account to a maximum of 10 users if you are an individual user. Here’s how you can configure Email Delegation:
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Login to your Gmail account
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Click on the Gear Box to the right of your screen and select the ‘Settings’ menu option.
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Choose the Accounts and Imports tab
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Click on the ‘Add another account’ link next to ‘Grant access to your account’ option
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Provide the Gmail id of the delegate to whom you wish to grant access.
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Click ‘Next Step’ to continue delegation.
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Confirm the process by clicking on ‘Send email to grant access’ button.
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The system will send a verification message to your delegate at the Gmail Id you have specified.
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Once the delegate confirms the mail receipt, the system will verify credentials and update your Accounts tab with the details.
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You can provide one or more of your Gmail ids in case you want to access all your accounts using a single set of login credentials. Just add another account for each new delegate you wish to share your Gmail account.
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In order to remove a delegated access to your mail account, simply get to the Gear Icon->Settings->Accounts and Imports tab and delete the Gmail Id from the ‘Grant access to your account’ section.
To access a delegated mail account:
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Simply use the down arrow next to your Gmail id on the browser window and select the ’Switch Account’ option.
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Click on the required delegated email id to access the corresponding mail account.
Although the Email Delegation feature was primarily designed for users looking to delegate mail communications to personal assistants, it can be used by almost anyone looking for a similar functionality. Messages sent by the delegate from your mail id will be tagged with ‘Your Name (sent by Delegate)’ as the sender’s name. The Email Delegation feature has been adopted by Gmail from Google Apps, which also allows users to delegate access to multiple Google Apps accounts. However, beware of hackers, because all your mail accounts will be compromised even if a single account in this delegate group is hacked.
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About the author: Rebecca is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on environment and technology. Beside this she is fond of books. She recently bought a Wireless HDMI Transmitter. These days she is busy in writing an article on Green building.