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5 Ways To Log Into Several Gmail Accounts At The Same Time


If you have more than one Gmail account you regularly use (I have five), one of the most annoying aspects of dealing with it is the fact that you cannot have more than one opened (opening two instances of a web browser doesn't help either, because the cookie is shared between them) at the same time. You have to log out and log in every time you want to switch. This is unacceptable if you simply must have several accounts opened at the same time.

So, I've searched the net for a quick fix, but unfortunately, there is no one perfect solution. Some obvious ones are annoying and tiresome; others are better but they also have certain flaws. Therefore, I'll lay out five different methods and let you choose which one you like best.

1. Multiple browsers

The most obvious method would be to simply use several web browsers at the same time, and be logged into a different Gmail account in each one. If IE and Firefox aren't enough, add Opera and Safari to the mix. The disadvantage of this method is quite obvious: besides the extra memory drain, you're basically back in the dark ages of tabless browsing, having to switch between three or more different windows which are cluttering your taskbar.

2. Master account

This is a workaround solution which requires you to create a "master" Gmail account to which you'll forward all your other Gmail accounts, thus eliminating the need to have them all opened at the same time. Open your regular account(s), click Settings - Forwarding and POP in Gmail, enter the address of your master account, select Gmail to keep a copy of the message in the inbox, and click Save Changes. You can further spice this methods by using filters to forward specific messages only, and labels to mark messages from various account. The problem with this method can be the size: if you receive a LOT of e-mail, you can end up filling up your Gmail quota (yes, it can happen). Furthermore, some users (me) simply prefer to have several accounts opened; when you have several business and personal accounts, having all that mail pour into your brain at the same time can be tiresome.

3. IE Tab

This tip comes from the tipsters of Lifehacker. It's basically the same as the first method: you're still using two different browsers, only this time you're opening IE inside Firefox through an extension called IE Tab. This solves the problem of having several windows opened, but it only lets you log into two different Gmail accounts at the same time, not more. Furthermore, having used the IE Tab extension for another purpose before, I've found it unstable at times. Lastly, Firefox purists probably can't stand to have IE polluting their Firefox, which is not a real downside, but I'm adding it because I'm sure someone out there will hate the idea.

4. Gmail Manager

Finally, the be all and the end all: a Firefox plugin that solves all our troubles. Sounds great in theory, but in practice it's a bit more complex. Some people are reporting problems with Firefox 3 (it works for me), and lately it has stopped working with Google Apps accounts, too. However, if it weren't for these downsides, this plugin would be the perfect solution; you just add all your credentials once, and then switch between your accounts as needed, or simply have them all opened it tabs. Alerts via visual notifications as well as alarm sound when new mail arrives are also available. In short, when the pending issues are fixed this plugin will certinaly be the best solution out there,

5. Google Account Multi-Login

Another workaround that doesn't exactly solve the problem, but it makes it much less of a hassle. This Greasemonkey script provides you with a drop down from which you can choose several accounts. You can't see them all at the same time, but you can switch from one to another in a second.

Know of another method to have several Gmail accounts opened at the same time? Let us know in the comments.

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