Google Mail allows someone to give you access to his or her account so that you can then read, send, respond to, and delete email messages on their behalf. Try watching this Youtube video, "Setting up Gmail Delegation," for a better understanding of the process. If you would like to enable or disable someone from accessing your email account, please see Google Mail: Set Up Email Delegation.
Note: When someone delegates his or her account to you, you will not have access to that person’s settings, password, or Chat (instant messenger).
To Access a Delegated Email Account:
Once an email account has been delegated to you (or once you have been granted access), you can begin accessing that account from your own account. To do so, complete the following steps:
- Log in to your Google Mail account.
- Click your account photo or the circle with your first initial in it (located in the upper-right corner of the page).
- From the drop-down menu, select the desired delegated account. A new window or tab will open displaying the delegated account.
To Manage Email in a Delegated Account:
Follow the steps under “To access a delegated email account” above. From the new window or tab that appears, you can manage the delegated account’s email like you would manage your own email.
Note: When you send an email from a delegated account, the email will be listed as sent by that individual when a recipient sees it in his or her inbox. However, when recipients open the message, they will be able to see that you sent the message on the individual's behalf (your email address will be listed in parentheses along with "sent by" next to the delegator's name).