To open Gmail, you can login from a computer, or add your account to the Gmail app on your phone or tablet. Once you're signed in, check your mail by opening your inbox.
Tip: If you're signing in to a public computer, make sure to sign out before leaving the computer. Learn more about securely signing in.
Messages in your inbox are sorted into categories, like Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums. Categories help you sort your emails so you don't see all of them at one time. When you open your inbox, you'll see your Primary tab first.
If you don't see tabs in your inbox, follow these directions to turn on inbox categories:
All messages are automatically labeled for the first 5 categories even if you don't show the categories in your inbox.
You can choose different notifications for each category. Learn more about notifications.
If you have more than 250,000 messages in your inbox, you won't be able to turn on inbox categories.
To get below this limit, you can archive or delete messages.