How to Use Gmail on a Mac
The Mail app in macOS is like most other email clients, letting you add email accounts from your favorite email provider so that you can send and receive email messages with ease. This means you can access your Gmail account through Mail.
When you use Gmail on your Mac, you can configure whether you access your online account through IMAP or POP, although Apple recommends using IMAP.
Here’s how to access IMAP-configured Gmail on a Mac by adding your account to the Mail app.
Open the Mail application on the Mac. In the Mail menu, choose Add Account from the options. In the Choose a Mail account provider screen, select Google and click Continue. Select Open Browser to allow Google to complete authentication. Type your Gmail email address and click Next. Type your password and click Next. If you enabled two-step authentication, enter the code received by SMS or generated in an authentication app, and then click Next. Google lists the permissions you are granting macOS. Review them and then click Allow at the bottom of the screen. Click the i icon next to each item for more information. A list of apps appears. Click the check box next to each app you want to sync, then click Done. Along with your mail, you can opt to sync your Contacts, Calendars, and Notes from Gmail. The address you added will now appear in the Mailboxes section of the Mail sidebar.
Other Ways to Access Gmail
Mail isn’t the only program that can access Gmail on a Mac. You can also use free email clients for Mac to download and send emails through your Gmail account. However, the setup instructions for those email clients are not the same as the steps above. They are similar and require the same IMAP and POP server information linked above.
Another way to get to Gmail on your Mac is to access Gmail.com. When you send and receive Gmail messages through a browser via that URL, you don’t need to worry about email server settings or downloading anything. It works in Safari and other web browsers you might use.
