Learn about delegate accounts in Google, how to add them, and how to check if you're already a delegate to an account.
Overview
When a team or office needs several people to be able to access a single Gmail inbox, LITS recommends that this is done via account delegation rather than sharing passwords. When you're a delegate to an account, you can access it from within your MHC email account without needing to know the account password and without needing to 2-factor into the account since you're already authorized via your own MHC account. This makes it easier for access to be securely shared among several people.
What is a delegate account?
In Gmail, delegated accounts and shared inboxes are the same thing. Use them to grant people (delegates) access to your (or your department's) Gmail account, resulting in an inbox with benefits such as:
- Automatically sorting email with filters (rules)
- Keeping a record of correspondence by archiving email
- Tracking the status of email messages using labels
- Showing or hiding the delegate’s name as the sender
Delegates can read, send, and delete email messages in the inbox that's been delegated to them. They can’t chat with anyone for that account or change its Gmail password. When they send a message, their email address appears as the sender.
Interested in learning more? Watch this video explanation.
How do I add a delegate to my Gmail account or one I manage?
Here are the Google Instructions for adding (and removing) a delegate account to your MHC Gmail account.
How many delegates a single Gmail account have?
Google allows up to 1000 delegates per organizational account, though only roughly 40 may access the account simultaneously.
How can I see if people have delegate access to my account or an account I manage?
You can see a list of accounts that have delegated access to your account in your Gmail settings:
- Open Gmail settings
- Select Accounts
- Navigate down to Grant access to your account to see current active delegates to your account
How do I know if I have delegated access for another Gmail account?
You can see if you are a delegate for an account by selecting your profile picture in the top right corner of your email inbox. If you're a delegate you'll see the email address listed and to the right of it it will say "delegated."
