Why you might want to add another Gmail account to Gmail

If you have more than one Gmail address, you can view and send from both accounts without logging out and back in each time. Gmail lets you add up to four other accounts to your main account, and you can switch between them or see them all in one inbox. This is useful if you have a work email and a personal email, or if you created a second account for a specific purpose and want to keep both active.

Adding another account does not merge them or change your passwords. Each account stays separate — you are just giving Gmail permission to show you both at once. You can remove the added account anytime, and nothing happens to either email address.

Key Takeaways

  • You can add up to four other Gmail accounts to your main account through Settings, and each one stays completely separate.
  • The account you are adding must already exist — you cannot create a new Gmail address from this screen.
  • You will need the password for the account you are adding, or you will need to set up an app password if that account uses two-factor authentication.
  • Once added, you can switch between accounts using the profile picture menu in the top right, or combine them into one inbox view.
  • Adding an account takes about two minutes and does not affect the security or password of either email address.

How to add another Gmail account in three steps

Open Gmail and look at the top right corner, where you see your profile picture or initial. Click it. A menu will drop down. At the bottom of that menu, click "Add another account."

Gmail will ask you to sign in to the account you want to add. Type the full email address of that Gmail account and click Next. Then type the password for that account and click Next again. If that account has two-factor authentication turned on, you will need to enter the code from your phone or authenticator app instead of just the password.

Gmail will ask for permission to access the account. Click "Allow." You are now done. The account will appear in your profile picture menu, and you can switch to it anytime by clicking the menu and selecting the account name.

What to do if the account uses two-factor authentication

If the Gmail account you are trying to add has two-factor authentication turned on, Gmail will not accept the regular password. Instead, you need to create an app password — a special 16-character password that Gmail generates just for this purpose.

To create an app password, sign into the account you want to add (on a different browser tab or device). Go to myaccount.google.com, click "Security" on the left, scroll down to "App passwords," and click it. Select "Mail" and "Windows Computer" (or whatever device you are using). Google will generate a 16-character password. Copy it, go back to the Gmail add-account screen, and paste it in the password field instead of your regular password.

The app password only works for adding accounts to Gmail — it does not change your real password, and you do not need to remember it after you paste it once.

How to see both accounts in one inbox

Once you have added another account, you can view both inboxes separately by clicking your profile picture and selecting which account to view. But you can also combine them into one inbox so all your mail appears in the same place.

To do this, click your profile picture, then click "Manage your Google Account." Click the "Data & Privacy" tab. Scroll down to "Data from apps and services" and click "Gmail." Turn on "Show all mail." Now when you open Gmail, you will see messages from both accounts mixed together in your inbox, with a small label showing which account each message came from.

If you change your mind, you can turn this off the same way — just toggle "Show all mail" back off, and your inboxes will separate again.

Sending email from the account you added

When you compose a new email, look at the "From" line. It will show your main account by default. Click on it to see a dropdown menu with all your added accounts. Select the account you want to send from, and that email will come from that address.

Gmail remembers which account you last sent from, so if you usually send from your second account, you will not have to change it every time. The person receiving your email will see the address you sent from, not your main account.

Removing an account you no longer want to see

If you want to stop viewing one of your added accounts in Gmail, click your profile picture, find the account you want to remove, and click the three dots next to it. Select "Remove this account." The account itself is not deleted — it still exists and you can still log into it separately. You are just removing it from this view.

If you remove an account and then want to add it back later, you can follow the same steps as before. Nothing is lost.

What happens to your security when you add another account

Adding another account to Gmail does not weaken the security of either account. Gmail stores the connection securely, and you can revoke it anytime by removing the account. Your passwords stay the same — Gmail never stores your actual password for the added account, only a find token that lets it access your mail.

If someone gains access to your main Gmail account, they can see the other accounts you have added. This is one reason to keep your main account password strong and to turn on two-factor authentication for it. If you are concerned about someone accessing your accounts, remove the added accounts and sign into them separately instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add a non-Gmail account like Outlook or Yahoo to Gmail?

No, this method only works for Gmail accounts. To view Outlook or Yahoo mail in Gmail, you need to use a different process called "forwarding" or "POP3 access," which is more complicated and not covered here. Gmail's built-in add-account feature is for Gmail only.

How many accounts can I add?

You can add up to four other Gmail accounts to your main account, for a total of five accounts visible at once. If you have more than five Gmail addresses, you will need to switch between them by logging out and back in, or by using the separate add-account process for different groups of four.

Will adding an account let someone else see my mail?

No. Adding an account to your Gmail only lets you see that account's mail — it does not give anyone else access to anything. The person who owns the added account cannot see your main inbox unless you give them your password or they log in separately.

What if I forget the password to the account I want to add?

You will need to reset it before you can add it to Gmail. Go to accounts.google.com, click "Forgot password?" and follow the steps to reset it using your recovery email or phone number. Once you have reset it, come back to Gmail and try adding the account again.

Does adding an account use more storage?

No. Each Gmail account has its own 15 GB of free storage, and adding an account to your main Gmail does not change that. You are just viewing both accounts in one place — the storage stays separate.