Accessing Shared Email Accounts from Your Lafayette Gmail

Shared Email Account Delegates

You can give other people permission to use a shared email account. These people are called delegates.

What Delegates Can and Cannot Do

Before you add a delegate, it is important to understand what they can see and change in the shared account.

Delegates CAN:

• Open the shared account without a separate NetID and password.
• Read and delete emails sent to the shared account.
• Send new emails or reply to messages.

Note: Emails sent by a delegate will show their personal email address next to the shared account name (for example: From sharedaccount@lafayette.edu via netid@lafayette.edu).

Delegates CANNOT:

• Add or remove other delegates.
• Chat with anyone using the Gmail chat feature.
• Change the password for the shared account.
• Use other Google apps connected to the account, such as Google Calendar or Google Drive.

How to Add a Delegate

Only the owner of the shared account can add delegates. You can add people one by one, or you can add a Google Group. If you use a Google Group, only the Lafayette members of that group will get access.

Follow these steps to add a delegate:

1. Open a private browsing window (or Incognito mode) and log into the shared email account.
2. Click the Gear icon (Settings) in the top right corner, then click See all settings.
3. Click the Accounts tab at the top of the page.
4. Find the section that says Grant access to your account and click Add another account.
5. Type the full Lafayette email address of the person or the Google Group you want to add, then click Next Step.
6. Click Send email to grant access.

What happens next?

• Individuals: The person will get an email in their personal Lafayette account. They must click the link in that email to accept access. Once they accept, they will see the shared account in their Gmail account list.
• Google Groups: People added through a Google Group get access immediately. They do not need to accept an email invitation.

How to Remove a Delegate

When someone no longer needs access to the shared account, the account owner can remove them at any time.

1. Follow the same steps used to add a delegate to open the Accounts settings page.
2. Find the Grant access to your account section.
3. Look for the person or the Google Group you want to remove.
4. Click Delete next to their name or email address.

Tip: Use Google Groups Instead

Google Groups are often a better choice than a traditional shared email account.

• No wait time: You can create a Google Group yourself. You do not need to submit a help request to Information Technology Services (ITS).
• Easy teamwork: Groups make it easy for a team to read and reply to shared emails.

Important Note: Google Groups cannot own Google Forms. If your team needs to use Google Forms, a person must create the form from their individual account instead.

We recommend that departments look at Google Groups first for their shared email and communication needs.