How to sign out of Gmail

Forgetting to sign out of Gmail on an unfamiliar computer can be a huge privacy risk. Fortunately, it’s easy to log out of a device you no longer have access to. Here are four ways to sign out of Gmail.

How to sign out of Gmail on the web

When you are done using your Gmail or Google account, always remember to log out of the account if you are on a shared computer. Simply closing the Gmail tab will not log you out of the account.

To sign out of Gmail on the web, open the Gmail website in the browser in which you are logged in. Then, click on the Google profile icon in the upper right corner of the window and select the “Sign Out” button.

(If you are logged in to multiple accounts, this button will display “Log out of all accounts” instead. You will need to log out of all accounts, as it is not possible to selectively log out of multiple accounts from this page.)

And instantly, you will be logged out of the browser.

But the browser will still remember your email address (but not your password) to help you log in quickly. If you are privacy conscious, it is best to remove your account from the browser altogether.

On the “Choose an account” screen, click the “Remove an account” option.

Then, click the red remove icon (a minus symbol in a circle) next to the account.

In the pop-up, click the “Yes, remove” button to confirm.

From the popup, choose the option "Yes, remove" to confirm.

Your account will be completely removed from the browser.

How to sign out of the Gmail app on iPhone and iPad

In the Gmail app for iPhone or iPad, you can sign out in two ways. You can temporarily pause your Gmail account or you can completely remove the account from the device.

On your iPhone or iPad, open the Gmail app and tap your Google profile icon in the top right corner of the screen.

In the menu that appears, tap the “Manage accounts on this device” button.

Select "Manage accounts on this device" from the Profile menu.

You will see a list of all accounts added to your device. If you want to temporarily disable an account, tap the switch next to the account name.

To completely exit the device, tap the “Remove from this device” button.

Tap the button "Remove from this device" to log out of the account.

In the pop-up, confirm using the “Remove” button.

Click the "Remove" button from the popup to confirm.

Gmail will now completely log out of the account. Tap the “Done” button at the top of the Manage Accounts page to return to the main Gmail screen.

How to sign out of the Gmail app on Android

The Google account (along with Gmail) is deeply tied to the Android operating system. And the only way to sign out of Gmail is to sign out of your entire Google account on Android.

To sign out of your Gmail account on Android, you need to use the Settings app. The Settings interface may vary depending on the Android smartphone you are using, but the steps will be the same.

The Gmail app has a handy shortcut to directly open the Accounts page in Settings. Open the Gmail app on your Android smartphone and tap the Google profile icon in the top right corner of the screen.

Tap the Google profile from the search bar.

Tap the “Manage accounts on this device” option.

Tap "Manage accounts on this device" from the Accounts menu.

The “Accounts” screen in Settings will open. Tap the Gmail account you want to sign out of.

Then, tap the “Remove Account” button.

Touch "Remove account" from the account page.

In the pop-up, tap the “Remove Account” button again to confirm.

Confirm by tapping the "Remove Account" button from the popup.

The Google account will be removed from your Android smartphone and you will also be logged out of the Gmail app.

How to remotely sign out of Gmail on a lost or misplaced device

You can use the device management feature in your Google account to log out of a device even if you don’t have access to it. If you lose your laptop or smartphone, this option will come in handy.

Open your Gmail account in your browser, click on the Google profile icon in the top right corner and choose the “Manage your Google account” option.

Select the “Security” tab, then click the “Manage Devices” button at the bottom of the “Your Devices” section.

In the "Security" tab, click the "Manage devices" button.

You will now see a list of all the devices that are currently connected to your Google (and Gmail) account. Find the device you want to log out from, click on the Menu button (three dots) and choose the “Sign Out” option.

In the pop-up, click the “Exit” button to confirm.

To confirm, click the "Exit" button from the popup.

Your Google account will be logged out of the affected device. Repeat these steps with any other devices you want to log out from remotely.

Now that your Gmail account is safe from prying eyes, you should take some time to protect your Google account. Simply doing a security check and enabling two-factor authentication will do wonders when it comes to protecting your Google data!