Check who has delegated access to your Gmail inbox

Gmail delegation lets another account read, send and delete mail on your behalf. It can be useful for an assistant or team, but an old delegate may retain access after the reason for sharing ends. This is different from forwarding: the delegate opens the mailbox through their own account. Review the list directly before assuming a password change removed that access.

Review and narrow access​

1. On a computer, sign in to the correct Gmail account through your usual route. Open Settings → See all settings → Accounts and Import. Find Grant access to your account. If you manage several accounts, check each separately.
2. Read every listed delegate address. Match it with a current person and reason for access. In a work account, ask the account owner or administrator before changing a sanctioned handoff.
3. For an access grant no longer needed, select Delete next to that delegate, then revisit the list to confirm it is gone. Tell the person through a separate channel if this changes a legitimate workflow.
4. If the delegate was unfamiliar, review the account's recent security activity, recovery methods and forwarding or filter settings too. Preserve details and notify the security team if this is a work mailbox.

What the list can and cannot tell you​

A delegate can read, send and delete mail but cannot change the account password, according to Google's delegation guide. Removing access stops future delegated use; it cannot retract messages already read or downloaded. The setting may not appear the same way in a mobile app, so use the desktop instructions for this check. A clean delegate list also does not rule out other routes to mailbox access, such as an active session or connected app.