# Why do I get the same email twice in Gmail? — Adinand Email Cleaner

Last reviewed: October 29, 2026. HTML version: https://adinandemail.com/answers/duplicate-emails-in-gmail

We found no Gmail Help page about duplicate emails, and the two troubleshooting pages closest to the subject never use the word: the one for importing mail and the one for forwarding ([*Fix problems importing mail*](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7239777) and [*Automatically forward Gmail messages to another account*](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10957), both read 29 October 2026). Google's pages do describe the plumbing that can carry one message to you twice, and a way to see which pipe each copy came through. Start with the second part; it turns a guess into a two-minute check.

## Look at the route each copy took <p>On a computer, open one of the copies and, "Next to Reply, click More Show original" ([*Trace an email with its full header*](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/29436), read 29 October 2026). Do the same for the other copy and compare the two. Google's page tells you how to open the header, not how to read it, so the reading is ours: look for which of your addresses each copy was delivered to. Gmail's search can do the same sorting for you, since `deliveredto:` will "Find emails delivered to a specific email address" ([*Refine searches in Gmail*](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7190), read 29 October 2026).</p>

## Two routes from the same old account <p>This is the setup we would check first, because Google's own pages describe both halves of it.</p> <ul> <li>**The fetch.** Gmail's Check mail from other accounts collects mail from another address by POP ([*Add another email account on your computer*](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/21289), read 29 October 2026). After a one-off import, the same page adds, "Gmail forwards messages sent to your other account for 30 days."</li> <li>**The forward.** Google is retiring that fetch, and the replacement it suggests is forwarding at the old provider: "To have new emails automatically appear in your main Gmail inbox (like with POP fetching), set up automatic forwarding with your other email provider" ([*Learn about upcoming changes to Gmailify & POP in Gmail*](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/16604719), read 29 October 2026).</li> </ul> <p>Neither page warns about running both at once, but if you set up the forward and leave the fetch in place, each one delivers its own copy. That is our reading of how the two fit together, not a sentence Google has written. The fix is to close one route. To stop the fetch: Settings, See all settings, Accounts and import, and under "Check mail from other accounts", next to the account, click Delete (the *Add another email account* page above).</p>

## Two of your own Gmail accounts <p>When one Gmail account forwards to another, Google recommends you "select Keep Gmail's copy in the Inbox" in the account doing the forwarding ([*Automatically forward Gmail messages to another account*](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10957), read 29 October 2026). That is two real messages in two accounts by design. If you read both accounts side by side, in the app or in two browser tabs, every forwarded message appears twice. The other choice the page lists, "Automatically archive the copy", keeps the forwarder's copy out of its inbox, which is enough to stop seeing everything twice. Running two accounts at once is covered on [having more than one Gmail account](https://adinandemail.com/answers/multiple-gmail-accounts).</p>

## If both copies took the same route <p>Then the duplication most likely happened before Gmail: the sender sent it twice, or your address is on their list twice. That is our reading, not Google's. Our suggestion is to reply to the sender once, or unsubscribe from the duplicate list if there are two.</p>

## Clearing the copies you already have <p>Gmail has no remove-duplicates command on its delete page, which deals only in selecting and deleting ([*Delete messages in Gmail*](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7401), read 29 October 2026). Once the route is fixed, search for the sender or subject, tick the extra copies and delete them. Deleted mail sits in Trash and, after 30 days, "The message is permanently deleted" (the delete page above), so a wrong tick can be undone within the month.</p>

Related: [Having more than one Gmail account](https://adinandemail.com/answers/multiple-gmail-accounts) · [Moving mail between Gmail accounts](https://adinandemail.com/answers/move-emails-to-another-gmail-account) · [Deleted emails that come back](https://adinandemail.com/answers/deleted-emails-keep-coming-back-in-gmail) · [Mass-deleting in Gmail](https://adinandemail.com/answers/how-to-mass-delete-emails-gmail)