How many Gmail accounts can one own?

Tsunami · 8 Nov 2015, 05:55 AM

Is there a limit on the number of Gmail accounts one person can have? Is there anything written in the Terms of Service or in any other document that specifies how many accounts 1 person can have?

I'm considering to create an extra Gmail account as backup for the time that Safe Mail is being down. Gmail at least has the log of previous sign-ins, some good safety features (eg the two-step sign in, warning if any previous session was not closed properly, ...) ; but I wouldn't like to lose my presently active Gmail accounts due to opening an additional one.

Does anyone know if there is a limit on how many accounts one can have with Gmail?

beeboy · 8 Nov 2015, 11:49 PM

Fill your boots.

They will limit you according to how many accounts are linked to your phone number.

I can't tell you how many they allow per phone number but its more than 2.

Can you still open a gmail account without a phone number? They are getting fussier about it. I've lost access to 2 older accounts when my IP changed and I did not have a phone number set.

Tsunami · 9 Nov 2015, 12:45 AM

I never entered a Phone number when signing up for Gmail.

It's odd they would deny you access to your account though because you had no Phone nr set. As long as you log in before reaching the inactivity limit (which is 9 months or 12 months if I'm not wrong) and you remember your password (and thus don't need a recovery Phone number or alternative email address), then why would they want to take your account offline?

Are you sure the reason for losing those accounts is exactly that, and that they did not just pass the inactivity limit? (as you indicated they were older accounts)

n5bb · 9 Nov 2015, 01:29 AM

Yes, Google now uses voice or text phone messages to verify accounts. I see this if I use a new browser to log into my existing Gmail account.
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/114129

Bill

Tsunami · 9 Nov 2015, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n5bb

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/114129

Isn't that refering to Google Apps rather than to Gmail?

Anyways, following your link... (this directs me to the Dutch language version of the page)
"Als er een foutbericht wordt weergegeven waarin staat dat u met dit telefoonnummer al het maximumaantal accounts heeft gemaakt, moet u een ander telefoonnummer gebruiken"

This translates as :
"If an error message is given saying you already reached the maximum number of accounts with this Phone number, you have to use another Phone number"

But it doesn't state exactly what is the maximum nr of accounts per Phone number. Also, I so far never entered a Phone nr in my Gmail account.

beeboy · 9 Nov 2015, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsunami

I never entered a Phone number when signing up for Gmail.

It's odd they would deny you access to your account though because you had no Phone nr set. As long as you log in before reaching the inactivity limit (which is 9 months or 12 months if I'm not wrong) and you remember your password (and thus don't need a recovery Phone number or alternative email address), then why would they want to take your account offline?

Are you sure the reason for losing those accounts is exactly that, and that they did not just pass the inactivity limit? (as you indicated they were older accounts)

They were not past the inactivity period. They were used for backup purposes and it is true that I rarely signed in. If you make a mistake on the questions they ask to recover an account, that seems to be the end of the account. I've had no luck since even though I own the forwarding accounts.

One account was linked to my previous phone number which, of course, was cancelled when I moved. I failed to jump all the hoops they supplied to recover the account.

No great loss as they were for backups only but it did smarten me up on securing access to my main accounts.

Good luck getting Google to respond to your enquiries in this situation.

Tsunami · 9 Nov 2015, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beeboy

They were not past the inactivity period. They were used for backup purposes and it is true that I rarely signed in. If you make a mistake on the questions they ask to recover an account, that seems to be the end of the account. I've had no luck since even though I own the forwarding accounts.

One account was linked to my previous phone number which, of course, was cancelled when I moved. I failed to jump all the hoops they supplied to recover the account.

No great loss as they were for backups only but it did smarten me up on securing access to my main accounts.

Good luck getting Google to respond to your enquiries in this situation.

Did you enter a secondary email account for password recovery? Did you not have the answer to your recovery question written down on some paper or so?
Maybe you can still re-access your account if you'd retrieve that piece of paper (if you had any)?

I never forgot any of my passwords, hence I never entered a Phone number. I just wonder what Google understands in "maximum number of accounts". Odd they don't state that exact number.

beeboy · 10 Nov 2015, 06:27 AM

I have the right password and recovery email but google still wants to verify via my old phone number.

"Hi,

Unfortunately Google was unable to verify your identity for account yaddayadda@gmail.com. Please try to sign in again from a computer you’ve successfully signed in from recently.

At Google we take your security and privacy very seriously. To learn more about why you were unable to sign in, please visit the help center article below:
Learn more about signing in to Google.

Sincerely,
The Google Accounts Team

This email can't receive replies. For more information, visit the Google Accounts Help Center.
You received this mandatory email service announcement to update you about important changes to your Google product or account.
© 2014 Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA"

favicon321 · 8 Dec 2015, 04:11 AM

no limit of accounts
Google actually recommends that you have different accounts for different habits
for example, have a personal account for another job, another if you have a business. etc
I have a blog where I do tutorials on these topics in email and email security called: bremail
Hope that helps.
a greeting

Tsunami · 20 Dec 2015, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by favicon321

no limit of accounts
Google actually recommends that you have different accounts for different habits
for example, have a personal account for another job, another if you have a business. etc
I have a blog where I do tutorials on these topics in email and email security called: bremail
Hope that helps.
a greeting

Thanks

So there is no restriction whatsoever when it comes to number of accounts? Did you test this yourself or read it in their ToS somewhere?

FredOnline · 20 Dec 2015, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsunami

Thanks

So there is no restriction whatsoever when it comes to number of accounts? Did you test this yourself or read it in their ToS somewhere?

Did you test this yourself . . .

Tell you what, Tsu - I'll try to open a million accounts to test and then I'll get back to you with the results.

May be some time though.

Seriously, if you don't believe what's being said here, you're more than welcome to do your own research.

Tsunami · 1 Aug 2016, 02:43 AM

I believe what others here say, but the one post in this topic contradicts the other a tiny bit. The poster who stated one can have unlimited accounts with Gmail without mentioning Phone numbers, also has not posted again ever since.

The support page of google.com refered to states they may warn that you already exceeded the maximum number of accounts allowed for that Phone number but that article doesn't exactly that what is that maximum number (not to mention it doesn't state anything about users who have an account to which no Phone number is connected ; I do often, after signing in, get a message whether I want to enter a Phone number or alternative email address for access recovery but I skip that screen because I manage to remember my login credentials well enough)

Steven Avery · 5 Jan 2017, 02:22 AM

Yes, I got that telephone number maxed out message the other day. My accounts with that number are probably close to 50, at the very least 30. (I have not checked all the older accounts to see if they have the phone hooked up, this is over about 10 years, about 10-20 accounts are significantly active.)

Afaik, I have never had a gmail inactivity problem. Now I am thinking I should log into some of the older accounts and make sure they are there.

I do forward the gmail accounts to my main POP service. (Verizon keepyouremail, aka VerizonYourDomain, a service which is sort of inactive, or discontinued, but seems to be kept for existing accounts.) So everything is automatically backed up.

Steven

Tsunami · 22 Jul 2018, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Avery

Yes, I got that telephone number maxed out message the other day. My accounts with that number are probably close to 50, at the very least 30. (I have not checked all the older accounts to see if they have the phone hooked up, this is over about 10 years, about 10-20 accounts are significantly active.)

50?

Anyways, I couldn't find the exact number Google considers to be the maximum per number. When talking about registration without phone number, no info is given on the number of accounts.

I know Google motivates having different accounts for different purposes, but what is "different"? Is that for example 5 accounts? 10? ... ??
One doesn't want to create an account, start using it for important mails, and then see the account disappear.

8 Nov 2015, 05:55 AM	#1
Tsunami The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: in between the bright lights and the far unlit unknown Posts: 2,341	How many Gmail accounts can one own? Is there a limit on the number of Gmail accounts one person can have? Is there anything written in the Terms of Service or in any other document that specifies how many accounts 1 person can have? I'm considering to create an extra Gmail account as backup for the time that Safe Mail is being down. Gmail at least has the log of previous sign-ins, some good safety features (eg the two-step sign in, warning if any previous session was not closed properly, ...) ; but I wouldn't like to lose my presently active Gmail accounts due to opening an additional one. Does anyone know if there is a limit on how many accounts one can have with Gmail?

5 Jan 2017, 02:22 AM	#13
Steven Avery Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 48	telephone number use maxed out Yes, I got that telephone number maxed out message the other day. My accounts with that number are probably close to 50, at the very least 30. (I have not checked all the older accounts to see if they have the phone hooked up, this is over about 10 years, about 10-20 accounts are significantly active.) Afaik, I have never had a gmail inactivity problem. Now I am thinking I should log into some of the older accounts and make sure they are there. I do forward the gmail accounts to my main POP service. (Verizon keepyouremail, aka VerizonYourDomain, a service which is sort of inactive, or discontinued, but seems to be kept for existing accounts.) So everything is automatically backed up. Steven

8 Nov 2015, 11:49 PM	#2
beeboy Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 551	Fill your boots. They will limit you according to how many accounts are linked to your phone number. I can't tell you how many they allow per phone number but its more than 2. Can you still open a gmail account without a phone number? They are getting fussier about it. I've lost access to 2 older accounts when my IP changed and I did not have a phone number set.

9 Nov 2015, 12:45 AM	#3
Tsunami The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: in between the bright lights and the far unlit unknown Posts: 2,341	I never entered a Phone number when signing up for Gmail. It's odd they would deny you access to your account though because you had no Phone nr set. As long as you log in before reaching the inactivity limit (which is 9 months or 12 months if I'm not wrong) and you remember your password (and thus don't need a recovery Phone number or alternative email address), then why would they want to take your account offline? Are you sure the reason for losing those accounts is exactly that, and that they did not just pass the inactivity limit? (as you indicated they were older accounts)

9 Nov 2015, 01:29 AM	#4
n5bb Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: May 2004 Location: Irving, Texas Posts: 8,926	Yes, Google now uses voice or text phone messages to verify accounts. I see this if I use a new browser to log into my existing Gmail account. https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/114129 Bill

10 Nov 2015, 06:27 AM	#8
beeboy Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 551	I have the right password and recovery email but google still wants to verify via my old phone number. "Hi, Unfortunately Google was unable to verify your identity for account yaddayadda@gmail.com. Please try to sign in again from a computer you’ve successfully signed in from recently. At Google we take your security and privacy very seriously. To learn more about why you were unable to sign in, please visit the help center article below: Learn more about signing in to Google. Sincerely, The Google Accounts Team This email can't receive replies. For more information, visit the Google Accounts Help Center. You received this mandatory email service announcement to update you about important changes to your Google product or account. © 2014 Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA"

8 Dec 2015, 04:11 AM	#9
favicon321 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: sao paulo Posts: 2	no limit of accounts Google actually recommends that you have different accounts for different habits for example, have a personal account for another job, another if you have a business. etc I have a blog where I do tutorials on these topics in email and email security called: bremail Hope that helps. a greeting

1 Aug 2016, 02:43 AM	#12
Tsunami The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: in between the bright lights and the far unlit unknown Posts: 2,341	I believe what others here say, but the one post in this topic contradicts the other a tiny bit. The poster who stated one can have unlimited accounts with Gmail without mentioning Phone numbers, also has not posted again ever since. The support page of google.com refered to states they may warn that you already exceeded the maximum number of accounts allowed for that Phone number but that article doesn't exactly that what is that maximum number (not to mention it doesn't state anything about users who have an account to which no Phone number is connected ; I do often, after signing in, get a message whether I want to enter a Phone number or alternative email address for access recovery but I skip that screen because I manage to remember my login credentials well enough)