Quick Gmail Tip: Set Gmail to Use HTTPS Automatically

This isn’t a tech blog, and I don’t often post tutorials about how to do things online, but I was trying to explain this to a couple family members recently, and I decided to share this quick tip with any of my readers who use gmail. I actually wrote most of this almost two weeks ago, but got busy with work and never posted it…

As many of you who know me are aware, I am a huge fan of gmail, for so many reasons. There are so many powerful and convenient options and features loaded into gmail. One of the features that many people do not take advantage of the added security that HTTPS offers. Whenever you log into webmail or complete an online purchase, you use HTTPS. With most webmail services, you log in with HTTPS, but it usually returns to regular HTTP after you have logged in. Now gmail lets you stay logged in to HTTPS all the time, if you need the added security.

Until now, the best way that I knew of to use this was to install a firefox extension that forced the browser to open mail in secure (HTTPS) rather than normal (HTTP) mode. But I was looking in the settings of gmail, and I found a new option to always enable HTTPS automatically. (It turns out that the Official Gmail Blog posted an article about this feature in July, but I missed it, because I was basically offline.)

If you are on a firewall connection in your home, it might be overkill, so you might not need this feature. But if you use wi-fi or if you would like to make it a little harder for people to access your private communications, this is a handy option. Below are a couple screenshots, showing you how to do it. It is a simple, 4-step procedure.

Setting HTTPS as the Default

Step one: click on the “Settings” link at the top right area of the page.
Step two: Make sure you are on the “General” settings page.
(It should open automatically.)
Step three: Click on: “Always use HTTPS.”
Step four: Click on the “Save Changes” button.

Voila! You’re all set. The next time you log in to gmail, you will stay in HTTPS mode.