Anyone who deals with emails knows that you need an active internet connection for processing them. A spotty internet connection could leave you with limited or even no access to your emails. What if you could set up Gmail offline and access all your emails without the internet?

It would be a real boon, especially when you're traveling or taking a flight. Fortunately, you're in luck as a Gmail user. So, let's see how you can set up and use Gmail offline.

What to Do Before You Start

You should never set up Gmail offline on public or shared computers, as the emails are stored in your browser's storage. For some reason, if you have to, remember to delete the app when you're done, as detailed in a later section.

Obviously, you need a working internet connection to set it up first before you can start using it offline. Once you set it up, you can browse through your emails, search, archive, or delete them. You can even compose emails and queue them, and they'll be sent as soon as an internet connection is available.

Now that you are familiar with the basics, here's how you can get started.

How to Set Up Gmail to Use Offline

In the past, you needed an extension called Gmail Offline to get Gmail to work in offline mode. Unfortunately, the extension is no longer available, so you won't be able to use it.

Luckily, this functionality is now available natively within Gmail's settings. Follow the following steps to enable Gmail offline:

  1. Log into your Gmail account and click on the Settings Gear icon. Now click on See all settings.
    Settings Gear Icon in Gmail
  2. Locate and go to the Offline tab within the settings.
    Offline Tab in the Settings of Gmail
  3. You'll see Enable offline mail in this tab. Click on it so that more options may appear.
  4. In the Sync settings, set the number of days you want your emails from. Choose 7, 30, or 90 days. You can also opt to download attachments or not.
    Sync Settings in the Offline Settings of Gmail
  5. Finally, in the Security settings, you can either choose to save offline data on the computer after logging out or remove it.
    Security Settings in Offline Settings of Gmail
  6. Once the settings are according to your requirements, click Save changes to make the settings permanent.

You can now use Gmail without needing a connection to the internet. The data is saved locally within your browser so that you can access it at any time.

The only major limitation is that if you send an email in offline mode, it will be queued to send whenever you get internet access the next time. Fortunately, Gmail will do this automatically, so you don't need to worry about it.

How to Access Gmail Offline

The best way to access your Gmail in offline mode is to bookmark your inbox. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Log into your Gmail account and set up the offline mode in the settings as we have mentioned above.
  2. Now, go back to your email inbox and click CTRL + D or simply bookmark it from the address bar.
  3. Rename the bookmark if you want to, and it should be ready for you to use in the future.

Now that everything is set up, you can access Gmail in offline mode using the bookmark that you've just created.

No Internet? No Problem

With the offline option in Gmail, you can always deal with your emails and save yourself some time, whether you're on a flight or you're at a beach with no internet. Even if you are using someone else's PC, you can choose the option to delete the data after you log out to stay secure.