Delegating an inbox (e.g. shared support@)

How to give another person access to read, send, and manage email on behalf of a Gmail account — ideal for shared inboxes like support@ or admin@.

Gmail delegation lets one person manage another person's inbox — reading, replying, and organizing email on their behalf — without sharing their password. This is the right way to handle shared inboxes like support@, billing@, or an executive assistant managing their boss's email.

Quick summary

Go to Gmail Settings → See all settings → Accounts → Grant access to your account. Enter the delegate's email address. They accept the invitation and can then access your inbox from their own Gmail account. Emails they send will appear as "sent on behalf of" your address.

When to use delegation

Delegation is the right tool when:

You have a shared inbox (support@, billing@, info@) that more than one person monitors
An executive assistant needs to manage a manager's inbox
A team member covers for a colleague during leave

For a truly shared inbox that multiple people actively use, you may also want to consider using a Google Group, which routes email to multiple people. Both approaches have their place.

Setting up delegation (the account owner does this)

Sign in to the Gmail account that you want to share access to (e.g., support@yourcompany.com).

Click the gear icon → See all settings.

Click the Accounts tab (sometimes labeled "Accounts and Import").

Find "Grant access to your account" and click Add another account.

Enter the delegate's email address — for example, jane@yourcompany.com.

Click Next Step and confirm.

The delegate receives an email with a link to confirm. They must click the link to accept the access.

Delegation only works between accounts on the same Google Workspace domain, or sometimes with personal Gmail accounts — check your admin settings if you're unsure.

Accessing a delegated inbox (the delegate does this)

Open Gmail while signed in to your own account.

Click your profile photo in the top right.

If you've been given delegate access, the delegated account appears in the list. Click on it.

A new Gmail window opens showing the delegated inbox. You can read, reply, and organize email there.

Email sent from a delegated inbox

When a delegate sends an email, Gmail shows it as sent "from: support@yourcompany.com on behalf of jane@yourcompany.com." Recipients see both addresses. This is standard behavior and most people won't be confused by it.