Buying a Gmail Account: What to Check First

People buy Gmail accounts to keep projects apart, to sign up to tools or for work where one mailbox is not enough. Here is what to look at before you buy and what to do after.

Before you buy

• The age: an older account is trusted more than a new one when you sign up to sites.
• The recovery details: is there a recovery email or phone, and will you be able to change it?
• The 2FA: is it on, and is a backup code or key included?
• The app password: you need it if you want to use the mailbox in an email program.
• The country: it can matter if a service checks where you log in from.

After you buy

Log in and change the password and the recovery email first. Turn on 2FA with your own authenticator app. For the first days, log in from one device and one place. If a mailbox is suddenly used from many countries, Google can lock it.

Sending email

Go slowly. Do not send a lot of messages on the first day. Start with a few and add more each day. Sending bulk mail from a new setup is the quickest way to get blocked.

What not to use it for

Do not use a bought mailbox for banking, or for anything you cannot afford to lose. Google can lock any account.