How to create and use a second Google account: tips for setting up and using it

1. Life hacks for setting up a second Google account on your computer and phone
2. Create a second Google Account
3. Adding a second Google Account to your phone
4. Add a second Google Account online

Life hacks for setting up a second Google account on your computer and phone

One Google account gives you access to many applications: email, cloud storage, music, movies, maps, and work tools. All of this is very useful. That’s why you might want to think about having a second account with the same features. Here’s how: tips for setting it up and using it.

Create a second Google Account

You will need to provide Google with some information and a phone number. In response, Google will give you some suggestions for an account name (which will also be your Gmail address) based on the name you choose, but you can choose something else if you want.

You will also need to provide your birthdate, gender, and password. You also have the option to enter a backup email address, which we recommend (it can even be a Gmail address associated with your original Google account) in case you ever have trouble signing in to your second account.

The first thing you’ll see is your new Gmail inbox: clean and empty. From here, you can start decorating it: add a picture to your Google Account profile and set up identification.

Adding a second Google Account to your phone

Depending on your phone model and Android version, the details may vary, but the bottom line is this. From the Android tab, open Settings, tap Accounts, tap Add Account, and tap Google. You will be prompted to sign in with the credentials associated with your new username and password.

You can now use your work applications from two accounts. Each application might have a different interface. For example, in Gmail, tap your avatar (top right), then select your new account from the list, and in YouTube, tap your avatar (top right), tap your current account name, and then select your second account.

Google Drive is likely to be the app you’ll switch between on a regular basis, especially if your second account is for work. Just like Gmail or YouTube, tap your avatar icon in the upper-right corner, and then select your second account.

You shouldn’t have too much trouble finding the account switch in any of your Google apps. In Google Photos, it’s at the top of the app menu (three lines in the upper left corner); in Google Maps, it’s in the upper right corner, behind your avatar; in Play Movies & TV, you’ll need to open the app menu (three lines in the upper left corner), and then select your second account.

Gmail works a little differently. It lets you merge your accounts in a way that other Google apps don’t, so you can see all your mail on one screen. Open the app’s menu (three lines at the top left), then select All Inbox. You actually have a few options for merging emails from multiple Google accounts into Gmail, which we’ll discuss in the Internet section below.

If you use an iPhone, the easiest way to set up a second Google account is as follows Install the Google App for iOS. Tap your avatar (top right), then tap Add another account and follow the instructions to sign in. You will also be asked to select the default account.

Just like on Android, each Google app has its own account switch: behind the avatar in the top right corner: Google Drive, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Maps, and in the app menu for Google Photos and Play Movies & TV. Gmail for iOS has the same All Inbox option as the Android version of the app.

Add a second Google Account online

Gmail makes your second account available across all Google web applications. Click your avatar (top right), click Add another account, and then sign in to your second account.

For now, there’s no way to view email from all of your Google accounts on a single screen like on Android or iOS: you’ll have to open separate tabs. However, as mentioned above, there are a few ways to get all your Google mail into one inbox.

One is to simply forward emails from your second account, which is handy if you really don’t use it that much. On the Gmail screen for your second account, tap the gear icon (top right), then tap Settings, then tap Forwarding and POP/IMAP. Click Add forwarding address to send email directly from your second account to your first.

This is easy to set up, but it does not allow you to use your original Gmail inbox to reply to emails at your secondary address. To do this, you need to enable POP access to your secondary Google account (Enable POP for all mail in the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab discussed above). You can choose to keep copies of your mail in the secondary Gmail inbox during the first access.

Go back to the Gmail inbox for your first Google account, click the gear icon (top right), then click Settings, Accounts, and Import: you’ll need to add your second account in the Send mail and Check mail from other accounts sections. If you are not sure if your settings are correct, check here: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7104828

Once you have added your second Google account to Gmail on the web, it will appear in the menu when you click on your avatar in any of the Google applications: Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Calendar, YouTube, YouTube Music, and more. You won’t be able to see information from two accounts on the same screen at the same time, but you can at least run apps signed in to different Google accounts in multiple tabs at the same time.

Google Chrome also allows you to set up multiple profiles, which is similar to having multiple user accounts in Windows or MacOS, so that all of your browsing history, bookmarks, passwords, and other browser data are stored separately in two Google accounts.

Click the Avatar button in the Chrome toolbar, select Manage People, and then click Add Person. Choose a name for the second profile, add an image, and sign in using the credentials for the second account; you can switch between them by clicking the Avatar button on the Chrome toolbar again.

From an end-user perspective, adding a second profile isn’t much different than simply opening a second account in new tabs, but it does launch a new Chrome in the taskbar. If desired, you can separate bookmarks, passwords, and history for your second account.