Email Delegation for Every Gmail User, Not Just Google Apps Accounts

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 17 Dec 2010

Earlier today we were reporting that the Gmail for iPhone and Android web app has extended its language support to cover 44 languages from all over the world; previously the app supported just one language – English, of course. We now switch focus onto another piece of news that is related to Gmail, mainly email delegation.

There was a time when email delegation was something only Google Apps account holders could enjoy. As of this week, email delegation is available for anyone with a Google or Gmail account; basically anyone who uses Gmail. Since this is new functionality, perhaps I should go into how email delegation works; to do that I am going to use an example.

Okay, so you have an email account that you use for work, and you get all sorts of important emails in there, emails that need to be answered quickly. The problem is that you don’t have the time to answer these emails; but your assistant Tom does have the time. You can grant Tom access to your email account. After you do that Tom will be able to read, send, and delete messages on your behalf. When an email comes in, Tom can respond on your behalf.

To grant Tom access to another account, you have to follow these simple steps
- Access your Gmail account
- Click Settings in the upper right hand corner of the screen, right next to your username.
- Click the Accounts and Import tab
- Locate Grant Access to your account and click Add another account.
- Type in the Tom’s Gmail address, and then click Send email to grant access.

Tom will get a verification email with links to accept or deny access. After Tom accepts and after he refreshed the browser, he’ll see a small down arrow beside his username in the top right hand corner. By clicking said arrow Tom can toggle between his account and your account. When Tom replies to an email on your behalf, the message will show the sender as Your Name (sent by Tom).

If at any time you no longer want Tom to have access to your account, you can revoke email delegation.

Additional information on email delegation is available in this Gmail Help article.


Latest News


Sony's 'Attack of the Blockbusters Sale' Slashes Prices in Half for a Ton of PS4 Games

17 Aug 2017

How Samsung's New T5 Compares to the Old T3 Portable SSD (Infographic)

17 Aug 2017

See all