Reprinted from TidBITS by permission; reuse governed by Creative Commons license BY-NC-ND 3.0. TidBITS has offered years of thoughtful commentary on Apple and Internet topics. For free email subscriptions and access to the entire TidBITS archive, visit http://www.tidbits.com/ How Gmail Users Can Configure an Email Alias in iPhone Mail Adam Engst My [1][email protected] email address is widely published, but most of my correspondents don't realize that messages to that address actually go to easyDNS and are immediately forwarded to Gmail. It's not a state secret, but I try to keep my Gmail address out of people's address books in case I ever decide to move the backend of [2][email protected] to another email service provider. In most email clients, that's easily done. In Gmail's Settings > Accounts and Import screen, I've created an alias for [3][email protected] that sends through easyDNS. (I also ensure that [4][email protected] is set as the Reply-to address for any email that does get out using my Gmail address.) Creating an email alias is all that's necessary for the Gmail Web client and for [5]Mimestream, which uses the Gmail API (see '[6]Why I Use Mimestream for Gmail,' 24 May 2023). Other apps are similarly easy. In Mail on the Mac, I can open Mail > Settings > Accounts > Gmail, click the Email Address pop-up menu, and either select a predefined address or create a new one. But this only works properly with aliases already set up in Gmail. However, Mail in iOS has no such Email Address field. For the most part, this hasn't bothered me because I prefer the iOS Gmail app to Mail anyway, and the Gmail app picks up my settings from Gmail on the Web. In other words, it just works. One issue has stymied me for years, though, because it comes up only infrequently. iPhone apps sometimes call Mail to send a message, and the only available From addresses are those set up on the iPhone. In particular, I encounter this with the [7]Webscorer app, which lets me email race results to race directors after timing a race. Since I frequently correspond with these race directors and they are largely non-technical, I strongly prefer not to reveal my underlying Gmail address to them and have them start using it unaware. I always end up sending these URLs using Gmail or Messages. I was in the process of reporting a cosmetic bug with Webscorer related to the new iPhone 16 Pro screen size and thought, 'Maybe this is a Webscorer problem they can fix.' Needless to say, Webscorer is far more responsive than Apple. But because I like to make sure I'm on firm technical ground when I make a criticism, I decided to see if I could get my [8][email protected] address into Mail on the iPhone first. The good news is that I succeeded! The bad news is that it's more involved than on the Mac. The key is to set up a new Mail account using the Other type rather than Google, and you must manually provide all the picky IMAP and SMTP settings. Plus, you need to create an app password in your Google Account because Google requires that for third-party apps that don't support two-factor verification. Follow these steps, which are the same on the iPhone and iPad: 1. In Gmail, click the gear icon to access settings, click See All Settings, and click[9]Accounts and Import. In the Send Mail As section, click Add Another Email Address and provide the necessary information. On the first screen, select '[10]Treat as an alias,' and on the second screen, you'll need to enter SMTP server information for an account that gives you sending privileges'[11] mailout.easydns.com, in my case. Ask your Internet service provider or the organization providing your custom email address for details. 2. Go to the[12]App Passwords screen of your Google Account and create a new app password. Although there's no harm in storing it permanently in your password manager, you don't need to because you can always make a new app password. 3. Open Settings > Apps > Mail > Mail Accounts in iOS 18 or Settings > Mail > Accounts in iOS 17 or earlier. 4. Tap Add Account > Other > Add Mail Account. 5. Enter your name, desired email address, app password, and a description. 6. On the next screen, leave the control at the top set to IMAP, and enter [13]imap.gmail.com (for receiving mail through Gmail) and[14]smtp.gmail.com (for sending messages through Gmail) for those servers, along with your full Gmail address as the user name and your just-created app password for both passwords. 7. On the final screen, leave Mail enabled and tap Save. I never enable Notes. 8. Test your new setup. It should appear in Mail, and you should be able to send email from it. If the account doesn't appear in Mail, something is wrong with the IMAP configuration; if your outgoing test message doesn't arrive, the SMTP configuration is probably incorrect. Also, if you add an email address that doesn't match a Gmail alias, the message will be sent from your default Gmail address. All custom addresses must match Gmail aliases. 9. From then on, when faced with a Mail draft, you can tap the From address to bring up a menu of alternatives and select the one you just created. I can finally email from Webscorer! While setting up a custom email address in Mail on the iPhone requires a bit more effort than within Gmail's Web interface or on the Mac, it's entirely achievable with the right steps. Once configured, you'll be able to send messages from your preferred email alias without exposing your underlying Gmail account. Whether you're working with professional contacts or simply enjoy the flexibility of personalized email addresses, this setup allows you to manage your online identity more effectively. References Visible links 1. file://localhost/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection 2. file://localhost/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection 3. file://localhost/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection 4. file://localhost/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection 5. https://mimestream.com/ 6. https://tidbits.com/2023/05/24/why-i-use-mimestream-for-gmail/ 7. https://www.webscorer.com/ 8. file://localhost/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9afbf9ffdaeef3fef8f3eee9b4f9f5f7 9. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#settings/accounts 10. https://support.google.com/a/answer/1710338?ctx=gmail&hl=en&authuser=0&visit_id=638630536958090061-3439841204&rd=1 11. http://mailout.easydns.com/ 12. https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords 13. http://imap.gmail.com/ 14. http://smtp.gmail.com/ Hidden links: 15. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2024/09/Gmail-aliases.png 16. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2024/09/Gmail-in-Mail.png 17. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2024/09/Webscorer-Mail-scaled.jpg 18. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2024/09/Gmail-alias-creation.png 19. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2024/09/Google-App-Passwords.png 20. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2024/09/Mail-create-Other-account-scaled.jpg 21. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2024/09/Mail-account-settings-scaled.jpg 22. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2024/09/Testing-Mail-account-scaled.jpg 23. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2024/09/Webscorer-proper-address-scaled.jpg .