Can I use Gmail offline?

Last reviewed: October 29, 2026 · Markdown version

On a computer, yes, with two conditions: it has to be Chrome, and you have to turn it on first. Google's page puts the scope in one line, "You can use Gmail offline to read, search, and reply to messages without an internet connection" (Set up & use Gmail offline, read 29 October 2026). On a phone there is no switch called offline; the Gmail app simply keeps a synced stretch of mail, covered at the end.

Turning it on

"You can only use Gmail offline in a Chrome browser window that isn’t in Incognito mode" (the Set up & use Gmail offline page above). Then:

Open Gmail's offline settings (Settings, the Offline tab).
Next to "Enable offline mail", tick the box.
Choose "how many days of messages you want to sync".
Click Save changes, and bookmark Gmail, which is how Google suggests you find the inbox again when the connection is gone.

How many days it keeps

The personal help page asks you to pick a number of days without listing the choices. Google's Workspace admin page does list them: "Values are 7, 30, and 90 days", with "the latest 30 days of email and attachments" as the default, and it adds that "Spam and trash are not stored" (Use Gmail offline with Google Workspace, read 29 October 2026). That page is written for work and school accounts; neither page says whether a personal account sees the same three values, so check the menu on your own screen.

What works while you are offline

You want to	What Google's page says
Send a reply	"it’s saved in a new "Outbox" folder", and goes out automatically when you reconnect
Open an attachment	You can download it and open it in another program, but "You can’t preview attachments"
Use a second account	"You can only use Gmail offline with the account you were signed in to at setup"; repeat the setup in the other account
Keep it up to date	"Your messages can only sync if Chrome is open"

All four rows come from the Set up & use Gmail offline page above.

When it stops syncing

Google gives two causes, storage and a closed Chrome. On storage, it notes that offline Gmail "only uses the space available to your browser. It’s a fraction of your computer’s total storage", and the fix it gives is to sync fewer days or untick Download attachments (the Set up & use Gmail offline page above). An "insufficient offline storage" error at setup has a less obvious cause on the same page: Chrome set to clear cookies on exit, a Guest profile, or an Incognito window.

On a shared or borrowed computer, think about what stays behind. Google's Workspace page describes a Security choice in the Offline tab between "Keep offline data on my computer", where data "will not be deleted when signing out of your Google account or when changing your password", and "Remove offline data from my computer" (the Use Gmail offline with Google Workspace page above). The personal page has no such choice; its way to turn offline mail off starts with deleting Chrome's site data and only then unticking Enable offline mail (the Set up & use Gmail offline page above).

In the Gmail app on a phone

Neither Gmail app has an offline mode in Google's help, but both search pages carry the same warning: "If you don’t have an internet connection, you can only search for emails synced with your device" (Search in Gmail (iPhone & iPad) and (Android), read 29 October 2026). On iPhone and iPad you can widen that window: Menu, Settings, under "General" tap Data usage, then Sync settings, and "Set the number of days of email to sync" (Fix sync errors with the Gmail app (iPhone & iPad), read 29 October 2026). Google's Android version of that page has only the "Sync Gmail" checkbox under Data usage and no days setting (Fix sync errors with the Gmail app (Android), read 29 October 2026). If mail you need is not on the phone at all, that is a sync problem rather than an offline one, and Gmail not syncing goes through the checks.