# How can you check Gmail without altering your phone's setup? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2020, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-check-gmail-without-altering-your-phones-setup/923904 "2020-10-26T05:47:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-check-gmail-without-altering-your-phones-setup/923904/1 "2020-10-26T05:47:08Z")
My mom was away from home and her pc. She wanted to login and check her email on my Android phone. Everytime I opened Chrome and Gmail sign in, it automatically loaded my Gmail. I don’t want to permanently add my mom’s account to my list of email accounts. Is there a way to just log in to a web page like hotmail? My mom’s old email is on Suddenlink. I can log into it with no issues and log out without changing my Android setup. My mom still reads email on a pc. She has an old flip phone. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-check-gmail-without-altering-your-phones-setup/923904/2 "2020-10-26T05:52:42Z")
See: > **[Sign in on a device that's not yours - Android - Google Account Help](https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/2917834?co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid&hl=en)** > > If you sign in temporarily on a computer, phone, or tablet that doesn't belong to you, use a private browsing window. > For example: A public computer that's available to lots of people, like at a ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-check-gmail-without-altering-your-phones-setup/923904/3 "2020-10-26T06:06:46Z")
That worked perfectly. My phone is still logged into my Google account. The incognito Tab is in my mom’s account. I always thought incognito mode was used to hide your browsing history. I had no idea you could switch Google accounts. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-check-gmail-without-altering-your-phones-setup/923904/4 "2020-10-26T13:10:56Z")
If you don’t want Mom’s account on your device at all you can remove it from the Account info under the phone’s main Settings app. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-check-gmail-without-altering-your-phones-setup/923904/5 "2020-10-26T14:10:01Z")
I just checked and the incognito Tab didn’t add my mom’s email to my phone’s Google accounts. It’s good to know \*\*\*where to check and how to delete unwanted accounts. \*\*\*Go into settings and search for email. Android buries it pretty deep. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-check-gmail-without-altering-your-phones-setup/923904/6 "2020-10-26T17:10:53Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I always thought incognito mode was used to hide your browsing history. I had no idea you could switch Google accounts. Incognito means that Chrome does not use all the details you have saved, as well as not saving your browsing information. That means existing cookies and saved logins, among other things, are not referenced. It’s like you had a brand new computer/phone and opened Chrome for the very first time, every time you start. And when you close the incognito browser, it forgets everything you just did. Of course, it’s not perfect. There’s a whole discussion over things like whether your browser sub-version, and versions of loaded add-ons like Adobe, version of your operating system, fonts and languages loaded, regional settings and what other programs your browser will admit to you having - whether these can be distinctive enough to identify your specific device each time when you revisit a website, even if you use a VPN to mask your IP address. But… for your purposes, it worked. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-check-gmail-without-altering-your-phones-setup/923904/7 "2020-10-26T18:10:46Z")
You can teach an old dog new tricks. I’ll start using incognito more often.