How to lock Gmail with a password on a shared computer

Your inbox is the key to everything else you own online: nearly every "forgot password" link ends up there. Gmail has no lock of its own, so on a shared computer it's one click away for whoever opens the browser next. Here's how to change that.

The short answer

Gmail can't ask for a password each time it opens. Your choices are to sign out after every use, to keep Gmail in a separate browser profile, or to put a lock in front of it with a free extension. The lock is the only one of the three that keeps you signed in and still keeps other people out.

What Gmail offers on its own

• Signing out. It works, and it's free. You'll type your Google password, and your 2-step code if you use one, every time you come back. Most people stop doing it within a week.
• A separate Chrome profile. This keeps your Gmail apart from the family's browsing, but Chrome profiles have no password. Anyone can click your profile's picture and they're in.
• Confidential mode. Despite the name, this limits what the person you email can do with a message. It doesn't protect your own inbox.

Put a password on Gmail with Web Lock

1. Add Web Lock to Chrome, then set the password and recovery email it asks for.
2. When it shows Pick sites to lock, tick mail.google.com. That's Gmail's real address, and the first suggestion.
3. Go to Gmail. You'll be asked for your Web Lock password, and you stay signed in to Google the whole time.

If Web Lock is already installed, add mail.google.com under Locked sites. Typing gmail.com does the same thing.

Use a recovery email other than the Gmail address you're locking if you can. Web Lock sends its reset code there, and you'd need to read it. A second address, or the same Gmail on your phone, both work.

The rest of your Google account

Locking Gmail leaves the other Google sites open. Decide which of these matter to you:

• photos.google.com for your photo library.
• drive.google.com for your files and documents.
• myaccount.google.com for account settings, including the page that changes your Google password.

To cover all of Google in one line, lock google.com. Be aware that this includes Google Search, so everyone using the browser will meet the lock screen when they search.

One thing a website lock can't reach is Chrome's own list of saved passwords, because it isn't a website. Chrome asks for your computer's password before showing them, so make sure your computer account has one.

Other email works the same way

For Outlook, lock outlook.live.com (typing outlook.com or hotmail.com also works). For Yahoo Mail, lock mail.yahoo.com. For a work mailbox, lock whatever address you open it at.

Questions people ask

Can I put a password on Gmail itself?

Not a separate one. Gmail opens with your Google account, and once you're signed in on a browser it stays open. A lock in the browser is the way to add a second password.

Will locking Gmail sign me out of Google?

No. You stay signed in. The Web Lock password is asked for first, and Gmail opens as usual once it's entered.

Does this lock the Gmail app on my phone?

No. It covers Gmail in the computer browser where Web Lock is installed. On a phone, use the phone's own app lock or screen lock.

Will I still get new mail notifications while Gmail is locked?

Gmail only shows desktop notifications from an open Gmail tab. While it's locked the tab hasn't loaded Gmail, so there's nothing to pop up.

What about mail apps like Outlook or Apple Mail on the computer?

Those are separate programs, and a browser extension can't lock them. Lock your computer's screen when you step away if you read mail in an app.