How to forward Gmail to another email address automatically

Gmail can send a copy of every new message to another address the moment it arrives. The setting takes five minutes, lives in one place only, and has a few rules that are worth knowing before you depend on it.

How do you forward Gmail to another email address?

On a computer, open Gmail, click Settings, then See all settings, and open the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab. Click Add a forwarding address, enter the other address, and confirm it from that inbox. Back in Gmail, select Forward a copy of incoming mail to, then Save Changes.

What gets forwarded and what doesn't

Google's page on automatic forwarding sets out the rules. As of October 2026:

Two consequences follow. A real message that Gmail wrongly marks as spam will not reach the other inbox, so keep an eye on Gmail's spam folder for the first few weeks. And forwarding does not move your history. Old mail travels by export and import, which is a separate job.

Set up automatic forwarding on a computer

The steps, as Google lists them:

1. On your computer, open Gmail and sign in to the account you want to forward from.
2. In the top right, click Settings, then See all settings.
3. Click the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab. On some accounts it is just called Forwarding.
4. In the "Forwarding" section, click Add a forwarding address.
5. Enter the address you want to forward to.
6. Click Next, then Proceed, then OK.
7. Google sends a verification message to that address. Open the other inbox and click the verification link.
8. Return to the Settings page in Gmail and refresh your browser.
9. Open the forwarding tab again and select Forward a copy of incoming mail to.
10. Choose what happens to Gmail's copy. Google recommends Keep Gmail's copy in the Inbox.
11. At the bottom of the page, click Save Changes.

Steps 8 and 11 are where it most often goes wrong. Without the refresh, the new address does not appear in the list. Without Save Changes, the page looks finished and nothing is forwarding.

Keeping Gmail's copy is the safe choice. If the other address has a typo, fills up or is closed one day, every message is still sitting in Gmail.

Can you set up Gmail forwarding on an iPhone or Android phone?

Not in the Gmail app. Google's help page has separate tabs for Android and for iPhone and iPad, and on both of them the instructions begin with the same words as the desktop tab: "On your computer, open Gmail." There is no forwarding setting in the app.

Some people load the desktop version of Gmail in a phone browser to reach the settings page. Google does not document that route, and the page is awkward at phone size, so use a laptop or desktop if you can borrow one. You only need it once. After forwarding is on, it runs on Google's servers and your phone does not have to be involved.

What the app can do is forward a single message: open it and tap Forward.

Forward only some messages with a filter

Forward everything and your second inbox inherits every newsletter. To send only what matters, Google's instruction is to turn off automatic forwarding and create a filter:

1. On your computer, open Gmail.
2. In the search box at the top, click Show search options.
3. Enter your criteria, such as a sender's address or words in the subject.
4. Click Search to check that the results are the messages you expect.
5. At the bottom of the search window, click Create filter.
6. From the list of filter options, click Forward it and select the forwarding address.
7. Click Create filter.

The address has to be added and verified in the forwarding tab first, or it will not appear in the list at step 6.

A few criteria that work well in the "Has the words" box, using Gmail's search operators:

• from:school.example for everything from one organization
• has:attachment for mail with files
• -category:promotions -category:social for everything except bulk mail

Forward to more than one address

Google's tip is short: to forward messages to multiple accounts, create a filter for every forwarding address. So to copy mail to both your partner and your accountant, verify both addresses in the forwarding tab, then build two filters with the same criteria, one pointing at each.

Test it before you rely on it

1. From a third address, not the Gmail account and not the destination, send a message to your Gmail address.
2. Check that it arrives in Gmail and, shortly after, in the other inbox.
3. If it only shows up in Gmail, look in the destination's spam folder, then go back to the forwarding tab and confirm Forward a copy of incoming mail to is still selected.

Sending the test from the destination address itself proves little, because some mail services hide a message you sent to yourself.

For the first week, Gmail also shows a notice at the top of your inbox: "You are forwarding your email to" followed by the address. Google says it is a reminder that forwarding is on and a chance to review the setting. It goes away by itself.

Check that nobody else is forwarding your mail

This takes one minute and is worth doing even if you never set up forwarding.

Forwarding is the quietest way to keep reading someone's mail. An intruder who gets into an account once can add a forwarding address or a forwarding filter, and copies keep flowing after you change your password.

Google covers this case directly. If you see a forwarding notice and you did not set it up:

1. Change your password immediately. Someone else might have access.
2. On the Settings page, turn off forwarding.

Then look in both places a forward can hide. Open Settings, See all settings, and check the forwarding tab for an address you do not recognize. Then open the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab and read each filter for the words "Forward to". Delete any you did not create.

How to turn off Gmail forwarding

1. On your computer, open Gmail and go to Settings, then See all settings.
2. Click the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
3. In the "Forwarding" section, click Disable forwarding.
4. Click Save Changes.

Filters that forward are separate. Edit or delete those in the filters tab.

When forwarding is part of leaving Gmail

Forwarding is the safety net that makes changing address painless. Turn it on first, then move your logins over weeks instead of in one stressful evening. Replies go out from your new address, which is how people learn it without an announcement. Our full guide to switching from Gmail puts forwarding in order with the export, the import and the account changes.

Any inbox can be the destination. If you forward into Secria, incoming mail is stored under zero-access encryption once it arrives, and tracking pixels are removed automatically. It is also a good moment to stop giving one address to everyone: an email alias per shop or newsletter keeps the next leak contained. If bulk mail is what you are trying to escape, see our guide to stopping spam emails.

Frequently asked questions

Does Gmail forwarding send old emails too? No. Google forwards new messages only. Mail already in the account stays where it is unless you export it or forward messages by hand.

Why is Gmail not forwarding my emails? The three usual causes are an unverified address, forgetting Save Changes, or the message being marked as spam, which Gmail never forwards. Check the destination's spam folder as well.

Will the sender know their email was forwarded? Automatic forwarding does not notify the sender. They will see your new address if you reply from the other inbox.

Can I forward Gmail to a non-Gmail address? Yes. The forwarding address can be at any provider. It only has to be able to receive the verification message so you can click the link.

I do not see a forwarding option. Why? On work or school accounts the tab can be missing or limited. Ask the administrator who manages the account.

Forwarding is a small setting that does a lot of work. Set it once, test it, and check it again whenever you change either address. If you want the destination to be an inbox built for privacy, Secria's free plan is a place to start.