A Google Group creates one email address that multiple people can read and reply from

A Google Group is a shared email inbox that lets several people send and receive messages from a single address. Instead of forwarding emails to each other or copying multiple people on every message, everyone with access to the group sees the same conversation thread. You create the group, add members, and choose whether replies go to the group inbox, to individuals, or both.

This works best for small teams, household members managing shared accounts, or anyone who needs one email address to be monitored by more than one person. The group itself has its own email address — something like household-bills@googlegroups.com — and you control who can see messages, who can post, and whether the group is public or private.

Key Takeaways

  • You create a Google Group at groups.google.com, give it a name and email address, and add members by their Gmail addresses.
  • The group's email address is separate from your personal Gmail and can receive messages from anyone, even people without Gmail accounts.
  • You choose whether members see all past messages, whether they can post without approval, and whether the group is listed publicly or hidden.
  • Members can reply to group messages from their personal Gmail inbox, and their reply goes to everyone in the group, not just the sender.
  • The group owner can remove members, change settings, or delete the group at any time, so choose a trusted owner if multiple people will manage it.

Creating the group and choosing a name

Go to groups.google.com and sign in with your Google account. Click the button to create a new group. You will be asked for a group name, a group email address, and a description.

The group name is what members see in their inbox and in the group itself — something like "Household Bills" or "Project Feedback". The email address is what people use to send messages to the group. Google suggests one based on your group name, but you can change it to something shorter or clearer. The address must be unique across all Google Groups, so if your first choice is taken, you will need to add numbers or hyphens.

The description is optional but useful. Write a sentence or two about what the group is for, so members understand why they are in it and what kinds of messages belong there. This description appears when someone views the group's public page, if you make the group public.

Setting privacy and posting rules

After you name the group, you choose who can see it and who can post. The main options are:

  • Restricted: Only members can see the group and its messages. This is the most common choice for household or team inboxes.
  • Announcement-only: Members can see messages but only the owner can post. Use this if you want one person to send updates to a group.
  • Public: Anyone on the internet can see the group and its messages. Avoid this for anything private.

You also choose whether members can post without approval or whether their first message needs your approval. For a small household or team, allowing members to post freely is simpler. If you expect spam or want to review every message, require approval.

Adding members to the group

Once the group exists, click "Add members" or go to the Members tab. Enter the Gmail addresses of the people you want to add. You can add them one at a time or paste a list of addresses separated by commas.

When you add someone, they receive an email inviting them to join the group. They must accept the invitation before they can see messages or post. If someone does not accept within a few days, you can resend the invitation or remove them and try again.

You can also set different roles. The owner can change all settings and remove members. Managers can moderate posts and add members but cannot delete the group. Members can read and post. Guests can read but not post. For most shared inboxes, everyone is a member or manager.

How replies and conversations work

When someone sends an email to the group's address, all members see it in the group inbox. When a member replies, they can reply in Gmail like a normal email, and the reply goes to the entire group — not just the person who sent the original message.

Google Groups threads messages together, so a conversation about one topic stays in one thread. This makes it easier to follow what has been discussed and find old decisions. If someone replies to an old message, their reply appears at the bottom of that thread, not as a new message.

Members can also reply privately to the original sender by clicking "Reply to sender" instead of "Reply to group". This is useful if you need to ask a clarifying question without involving everyone.

Managing the group over time

As the owner, you can change settings at any time. Go to the group's settings page to adjust who can post, whether new members see old messages, or what the group's description says. You can also read all messages as a backup or delete the entire group if it is no longer needed.

If a member leaves or you need to remove someone, go to the Members tab, find their name, and click the remove button. They will no longer see new messages, but old messages they received will stay in their inbox.

If you want to step back from managing the group, you can promote another member to owner. This is useful if the group is for a household and you want to share responsibility, or if you are leaving a team and want to hand off the group to someone staying behind.

Common reasons a shared inbox helps you spot scams

A shared inbox makes it easier for multiple people to notice when something looks wrong. If one person receives a suspicious email claiming to be from your bank or a service you use, they can post it to the group and ask "Does anyone recognize this?" Someone else might remember that the real company never asks for passwords by email, or might have seen the same message and flagged it as spam.

Shared inboxes also prevent one person from being the only one who knows about account passwords or recovery emails. If the group manages a shared account — like a household utility bill or a small business email — having multiple people able to read messages means no single person is a single point of failure. If one person is away or unavailable, someone else can still respond to time-sensitive messages.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can people outside the group send emails to the group address?

Yes. The group's email address works like any other email address. Anyone can send a message to it, even if they do not have a Google account. You control whether those messages appear in the group inbox or go to spam based on your posting rules.

Do members have to use Gmail to be in a Google Group?

Members need a Google account to join and manage the group, but people can send messages to the group's email address from any email provider. If you want to add someone without a Google account, you can create a Google account for them using their existing email address, or ask them to create one.

What happens to messages if I delete the group?

When you delete a group, all messages in the group inbox are deleted permanently. Members keep any emails they received from the group in their personal inboxes, but the shared archive is gone. If you think you might need the messages later, read them first from the group's settings page.

Can I change the group's email address after I create it?

No. The email address is permanent once the group is created. If you need a different address, you have to create a new group. You can add members to the new group and delete the old one, but any messages sent to the old address will not appear in the new group.

What if someone replies to a group message from their personal email instead of the group?

If they click "Reply" in their email client instead of "Reply to group" in Google Groups, their message goes only to the sender, not to the whole group. Encourage members to use the group interface or to always click "Reply to group" so everyone sees the conversation.