How to Add Another Email Address to Gmail

Introduction

Due to the increasing volume of email spam and phishing attacks each year, it's advisable to create a separate email account for different purposes, such as personal communication, work, shopping, and online banking transactions. This approach provides an extra layer of security and helps combat email-related cybercrimes.

However, managing different email accounts and switching among them can be a hassle, especially when using more than one email service provider. For instance, if you have a personal email account on Gmail and a work email account on Yahoo, you will need to download a separate app for each provider.

Gmail simplifies this process by allowing you to integrate other email accounts. It lets you add any type of email account, whether it's Google, Yahoo, Outlook, or a custom email domain. This integration saves you the inconvenience of downloading a separate app for each email provider, enabling you to keep track of all your emails in one place.

Gmail holds the second-largest market share in the global email client market, which is unsurprising given its effective spam and block filters, advanced search functionality, add-ons, security features, and large storage capacity. If you're eager to use these features but don't want to delete any of your existing non-Gmail accounts, Gmail has you covered!

Gmail allows you to leverage its robust features for your other non-Gmail accounts without worrying about copying your emails or creating a new account altogether. Simply connect your current account to Gmail, and it will efficiently import your emails from other service providers.

This article will guide you through the steps of adding another email account to Gmail, whether you're using the app or a web browser.

Why Add Another Email Address?

But first, let's find out why adding another address to Gmail is a beneficial strategy.

• Centralized Email Management and Increased Productivity: Aggregating all your email accounts with one provider creates a centralized inbox, saving you time and significantly boosting productivity. You can view and send emails from different addresses without switching accounts, effectively reducing the 28% of work hours the average person spends on emails, according to McKinsey.

• Access to Gmail's Functionalities: Utilizing Gmail as your centralized inbox allows access to a wealth of user-centric features. These include efficient spam filtering, an advanced search function that utilizes wildcards, the ability to schedule emails for later, and artificial intelligence-powered tools like smart reply and smart compose.

Now that you are convinced integrating accounts into Gmail is an effective email management strategy, let's proceed to achieve a centralized inbox in Gmail.

Adding Another Email Address Using the Gmail App

Adding another email account in the Gmail app is straightforward. Follow these steps:

1. Open the Gmail app.
2. Tap your profile icon in the top-right corner.
3. Select 'Add Another Account'.
   
4. Choose your email provider from the list. If it's not listed, tap 'Other'.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to add your email account.

Viewing the Combined Inbox of All Accounts

To view the combined inbox of all accounts in the Gmail app, tap the hamburger (☰) icon in the top-left corner and select All Inboxes. Here, you will be able to view the emails from all the accounts added to the Gmail app in a unified inbox. This approach is advantageous because you don't have to switch between accounts to read your emails.

Adding Another Email Address Using the Web Browser

Gmail provides two options for linking an account: POP3 and Gmailify. The difference between these methods is how they access and sync emails between linked accounts.

You can read more about this process on the Gmail Help Center.

POP3 is a protocol that downloads emails from another server to the Gmail account. The original emails may be deleted from the server depending on your configuration. It doesn't synchronize actions performed in Gmail, such as reading or deleting emails, with the original account. Additionally, it does not sync emails in real-time. POP3 retrieves emails periodically, not instantly.

Conversely, Gmailify is a feature that allows email access without needing to download them. It operates on the IMAP protocol, providing near real-time synchronization. Any actions performed on the emails of the linked account, such as reading or deleting them, will be mirrored in that account. Gmailify is supported by major email providers, including Yahoo, AOL, Outlook, Hotmail, and other selected non-Gmail accounts.

1. Go to Gmail and sign in to your Gmail account.
2. Open Settings by clicking the gear icon (⚙) in the top-right corner, then select See All Settings.
   
3. Navigate to Accounts and Import > Add a mail account.
   

4. A new window will appear. Enter the account's email address in the field and click Next.
5. Select either of the two options available, Gmailify or POP3, and click Next.

Select the first option to link the account using Gmailify. You will then be prompted to enter the credentials of the account you want to link. Follow the on-screen instructions to successfully link the account.

Alternatively, select the second option if you wish to connect the two accounts using POP3. Enter all the required details. It is recommended to select these two settings when linking an account using POP3:

• Always use a secure connection (SSL) when retrieving mail.
• Label incoming messages.
  

Labeling the Emails Fetched from the Linked Account

Although Gmailify is powerful, it has some limitations. One of these is unlabeled emails. Gmailify doesn't label the emails coming from the linked account, making it difficult to differentiate the recipient's email address. However, you can add custom labels to these emails using Gmail filters:

1. Log in to your primary Gmail account on the web browser.

2. Navigate to Filters and Blocked Addresses and click Create New Filter.
   

3. Enter the email address of the account you just linked in the To field.
   

4. Click Create Filter.

5. Select New label from the Choose Label dropdown.
   

6. Enter the label you want to assign to the emails received from the second account.

7. Select Also apply filter to matching conversations to label the old emails that are imported from the linked account.

8. Finally, click Create Filter.

Now, all the emails fetched from the second account will be labeled, making it straightforward to distinguish them from other emails.

Switching Between Accounts

Congratulations! You have learned how to add a second account to Gmail. If you want to switch back to your main account, simply follow the instructions below.

1. Open Gmail.
2. Click on your profile icon in the top-right corner.
3. A list of accounts will appear. Select the account you wish to switch to.

Conclusion

Having multiple inboxes for various purposes is an effective email management strategy, but it can get messy quickly without a unified view of your inbox. Integrating multiple accounts into Gmail is an outstanding approach to manage your emails. Not only do you get a centralized inbox to handle all your emails in one place, but you also have access to Gmail's robust features for your non-Gmail accounts. We highly recommend utilizing Gmail's ability to centralize your emails and enhance your email management capabilities!