Can you give someone read-only access to Gmail?
By Vamsi Krishna · Updated
No, not with Gmail's own features. The sharing feature is delegation, and a delegate can send and delete too. The read-only permission you may have seen is for apps, not people, and still covers every message.
Why not?
Gmail has no view-only mode for another person. Docs, Drive and Calendar all do, which is why people assume Gmail does. It is the exception. The nearest feature is delegation, and sending comes with it.
What about the read-only permission?
That is gmail.readonly, granted to apps you connect, not to a person. It stops the app sending or deleting. It does not reduce what it can see: every message stays readable. The full list of permissions.
Why it matters more now
Apps used to ask for mailbox access to do one job. Assistants and agents ask for the same access and read far more widely, because that is how they are useful. The permission model underneath hasn't changed.
Options
- A second account you forward into. The only approach that works today with nothing else involved.
- A filtered view in front of the account. The reader never holds an account-wide permission, because it never touches Gmail directly.
Where allowemail fits
We scope Gmail for AI tools today. Scoped access for a person is planned, not built. If that is what you need now, use the second account. Early access list.
Sources: Google's delegation help page and Gmail API scopes. Checked September 2026.