Alumni Email FAQs

Access your alumni email account through the alumni.stanford.edu website (and clicking the "check email" button).

You can also access it via mobile device or your desktop (e.g., via Outlook or Apple Mail). Only desktop access requires the creation of a separate Google Apps password. To create a Google Apps password please contact Stanford Customer Service.

If you try to access your alumni email through gmail.com, you must log in with username@alumni.stanford.edu (even if you use username@stanfordalumni.org). You will then be redirected to the Stanford Pass login page.

If you have any issues or receive any errors, reach out to Stanford Customer Service.

Yes, make sure you log out of Gmail separately. In addition, closing the alumni email browser/tab without signing out will not log you out. If you don't log out, others who use your computer can access your email.

To sign out of your Gmail account, select the initial of your first name in the upper corner of the page and click "Sign out."

Your account will remain accessible to you as long as you comply with the Terms of Use, which may be changed or amended periodically. Stanford reserves the right to discontinue an alum's email access if the alum uses the account in a way that, at the sole discretion of Stanford, is deemed inappropriate as defined by the Code of Conduct. Stanford reserves the right to terminate the webmail service at any time.

Stanford does not view or access any content from your alumni email account unless explicitly requested to do so by the account owner to provide technical assistance or in response to an automatic account suspension by Google or a compulsory legal process mandate.

Stanford's IT staff is responsible for setting up and administering alumni email. Stanford Customer Service continues to be the first point of contact for any problems alums may encounter with the service.

Stanford Alumni email, powered by Google, provides strong security and privacy protections. Google is contractually obligated to protect your confidential information and not release it to other parties, absent compulsory legal processes. Learn more about Google’s privacy protections.

In order to provide essential core features for Stanford Alumni email, Google runs automated scanning and indexing processes like spam filtering, anti-virus protection, and malware detection. Google systems also scan content to make sure Apps work better for users, enabling functionality like search in Gmail or Google Docs. These processes are completely automated and do not involve humans.

To change your Stanford Alumni email, contact Stanford Customer Service.

Starting September 30, 2024, Google Workspace accounts will only allow access to third-party apps using OAuth. Password-based access will no longer be supported. However, POP and IMAP will still be available and can be enabled for apps that connect using OAuth.

Please refer to this article.

Yes, Gmail lets you automatically forward incoming mail to another address. In addition to forwarding the message to another account, Gmail will keep a copy in your mailbox. You can decide if the copy should be kept in your Inbox, All Mail (archive) or Trash. Learn how to set up forwarding.

To delete a forward setting, select the "gear" in the upper right-hand corner of your mail screen. Select the "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" tab. Select the radio button that says "Disable forwarding."

If you have multiple forward settings, you will find the remainder under the Settings tab called "Filters.” A filter that was set for forwarding will say the following:

Matches: from:(*)

Do this: Forward to emailaddress@domain

To remove the filter, click "Delete" to the left of the filter.

Google has a robust Contact Manager that helps you easily create new contacts. After manually adding contacts, you can then include them on your “Frequently Contacted” list. Learn how to add, move, or import contacts.

Folders are called "Labels" in Gmail. Labels are Google's way of categorizing information, and they display to the left of the subject line of a message, in addition to the left side of a Gmail page. You can assign multiple labels to a single message and color-code them for easy identification. Learn how to create a label.

Gmail filters allow you to manage the flow of incoming messages. Using filters, you can automatically label, archive, delete, star or forward your mail, or even keep it out of Spam—all based on a combination of keywords, sender, recipients and more. Learn how to create filters.

An email alias is one or more additional email names that direct mail to your primary email address, and they can be useful when you have to provide an email address and prefer not to give out your primary address. Google aliases may contain letters (A–Z), numbers (0–9), dashes (-), underscores (_), and periods (.), but other special characters are not allowed.

If you would like to create a new alias, contact Stanford Customer Service.

To view existing aliases, click on the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner of your alumni email, select “See all settings” and select the "Accounts" tab.

A signature is a standard message automatically inserted at the bottom of every message you send. Google allows for a single signature. Learn how to create a signature.

The time zone for Stanford Google Apps is set to Pacific Time Zone. If you want to change the time zone, you will have to go to your Google Calendar. Click the gear icon at the top of any Google Calendar page, then click Settings and select the General tab. In the Country section, select your country. In the Time zone section, select your time zone. When you navigate away from the page, your changes will save automatically.

You can set up a vacation response in your Gmail settings that will automatically reply to anyone who emails you. Learn how to create a vacation auto-reply.

A preview pane allows you to read mail right next to your list of conversations. Although preview panes are not a standard feature in Google, you'll be happy to know that there is a way to enable them. Click on the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner of your alumni email, select “See all settings” and select the "Inbox" tab. Scroll down the page to Reading pane and select "Enable reading pane". Save changes at the bottom of the page.

The short answer: don't worry about it. Your alumni email is set up for whichever address you use; the address in the right corner isn't important (though it is confusing!).

Stanford uses Google Workspace for Education. Google does not allow users to log in to a consumer Google product with the email address used in Google Workspace for Education. As a result, if you have used your @stanfordalumni.org account to log in to your Google accounts in the past, it will no longer work. When you try to log in, you will get a message telling you that you need to associate your account with a different email address. You will be given three options: (1) create a new Gmail address, (2) associate a different email address with this account (e.g., username@yahoo.com), or (3) continue to log in with a temporary password assigned by Google.

Your personal Gmail account is completely separate from your alumni email account. You are allowed 15 GB of storage with your Alumni email account.

In April 2023, we began asking Stanford alumni and GSB alums to limit their accounts to 15 GB by September 27, 2023. Google’s current program for supporting educational institutions necessitates the creation of the 15GB limit per alum. Alums exceeding the 15GB cap cannot add or change files unless they free up storage space by deleting or moving files off the account. To retain content associated with your Stanford alumni account, please contact Stanford.

You can look at your total storage footprint and see what items drive increased storage use.

There are several options for storage needs above 15 GB.

• Open another Gmail account for business or activity that generates substantial storage needs. Your alumni email can continue to be used for general email and connection with the university. Before starting the transfer process, please ensure the destination Google personal account has sufficient storage space.

• Set up a Google One or cloud storage account. You can set up a cloud storage account with Google or another cloud storage provider and transfer documents, videos, and large files to this account. Google has many plans, and many other companies provide cloud storage options. Please note that upon establishing a storage account, you will need to move files, as they cannot be linked to your alumni Gmail.

• Remove or relocate large items to reduce your storage footprint. The Stanford Alumni Association does not have the option to offer a paid upgrade to increase storage.

After September 27, 2023, SAA may begin to cap alumni email accounts. If your total storage usage exceeds the 15 GB limit, your Stanford alumni email will still work; you will be able to transfer files off your Google Drive but not add files to your Google Drive. You will not be able to store any new documents.  We will continue to work with you to resolve your storage issues (see the “Get in Touch” box below for help).

Google does not allow you to merge separate Google Accounts. You can, however, set up one account to forward to another account. Learn how to set up forwarding.

Unfortunately, this is not possible. To avoid seeing the "Switch Accounts" prompt that signs you out of one of your accounts, we suggest using one browser for your personal Google account and a different browser for your alumni email.

Google Calendar and Google Docs are included with your alumni email account. There is a 15 GB capacity limit per alumni email account. Please note that your Stanford Alumni email on Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs cannot be integrated with existing consumer Google accounts.

If you do not see an application listed here, we do not support it. But if you need to access additional apps not listed here, you can always do so through your personal Gmail account.