Shared and private mailboxes

A support@ or sales@ address is only useful if the team can work it together. That is what a shared mailbox is for — and the sharing setting is a real permission, not a display preference.

There are exactly two states, and the difference is worth being precise about.

Who this is for

Anyone connecting a mailbox, and admins deciding how team addresses should work.

Before you start

• A connected mailbox.
• A decision about whether this address belongs to you or to the team.

Shared grants both reading and sending
A shared mailbox is visible to everyone in the workspace, and anyone in the workspace can send from it. That is deliberate for a team address — it is how a colleague picks up a thread while you are away. A private mailbox is neither readable nor sendable by anyone else. So the question to ask before sharing a personal address is not 'do I mind them reading it' but 'do I mind them sending as me'.

Set it up

1. Open the mailbox's settings
   Find the account in your email settings and open it. Sharing is a setting on the account, not on individual messages.
2. Choose shared or private
   Shared with the team, or private to you. Private is the right default for a personal address; shared is the point of a team address like support@ or sales@.
3. Find shared mailboxes in the rail
   The email rail groups mailboxes into your own and those shared with you, so it is always visible which is which.
4. Pick the right From address when sending
   When you compose or reply, choose the mailbox to send from. Replying inside a shared thread should go out from the shared address, not your personal one — check the From line before you send.
5. Flip it back if you change your mind
   Changing a mailbox from shared to private removes it from colleagues' rails and searches immediately. Nothing is deleted; it simply stops being visible to them.

What you get

• A team address several people can genuinely work, rather than one person forwarding things.
• Personal mail that stays personal.
• A rail that separates your mailboxes from ones shared with you.
• Reversible sharing — flipping to private takes effect straight away.

Frequently asked questions

If I share my mailbox, can colleagues send as me?

Yes. Sharing grants both reading and sending. That is what makes a team address workable, and it is the reason to think twice before sharing a personal address.

Can an admin see a private mailbox?

Private means private — it is excluded from what other users can read or send from.

What happens to shared mail if I make the mailbox private?

It disappears from colleagues' rails and searches. Nothing is deleted, and sharing it again restores their access.

Why does a reply sometimes go out from the wrong address?

Because the From address is a choice at send time. When you reply inside a shared thread, confirm the From line is the shared address rather than your personal one.