Gmail Is Shutting Down "Send As"
Google is ending support for the functionality that allowed users to "Send As" some other, non-Gmail account using the Gmail web interface. Word of this has been circulating on Reddit and elsewhere, and Google has published a support page and FAQ with details.
Starting in January 2027, Gmail will no longer support "Send as" for third-party accounts. That's the feature that let you send email from an address like @hotmail.com or @yahoo.com through your primary Gmail account, using the Gmail web or mobile interface.
Two related features are going away at the same time. Gmailify, which applied Gmail features like spam protection and inbox organization to a third-party account, is ending. And Check mail from other accounts, which fetched mail from third-party accounts into Gmail via POP, is ending too. Prior to January 2027, Google says it will restrict new configurations of these features, so look to lose that functionality even sooner.
What's not changing: "Send as" for Gmail addresses and Google Workspace aliases. Access to third-party accounts through the Gmail mobile app. And access to Gmail from third-party mail clients via IMAP, POP, and the Gmail API, which all remain fully supported.
With modern email authentication requirements being what they are, bouncing mail with a From address of some unrelated domain through Gmail's user interface had to be mostly unworkable as of some number of years ago. Honestly? I'm surprised this lasted as long as it did.
If you use the feature, Google recommends three paths forward:
- Use your provider's native website or app.
- Use a desktop mail client with IMAP/SMTP support.
- Use the Gmail mobile app, where third-party account access continues to work.
I think of this as yet another email hosting hack/loophole being closed, reminding us that if you use your custom email domain for your business, you need real email account hosting. Hacks don’t last.