How to Add a Signature in Gmail

Setting up a signature in Gmail is a two minute job on a computer. Once it is done, every new email signs off for you. The part that catches people out is not the setup. It is that the signature on your phone is a completely separate setting that does not sync from the web. Miss that and your carefully built signature simply will not show on mail you send from the Gmail app.

This guide sets up your desktop signature first, then shows how to make it appear in replies, how to keep more than one signature for different situations and how to set the separate mobile signature so it matches. A quick heads up on formatting: the web supports images and links, the phone app only allows plain text.

Add a signature on desktop

This is the main one, since the desktop version is the most capable and it syncs across any computer you sign into.

1. Open Gmail, then click the Settings gear at the top right.
2. Click See all settings and stay on the General tab.
3. Scroll to the Signature section, then click Create new.
4. Give it a name, like Work or Personal, then click Create.
5. Type your signature in the box. Use the toolbar to bold text, change colour, add a link or insert an image.
6. Scroll to the bottom, then click Save Changes.

From now on a new email carries that signature automatically. Google walks through the same flow in its help on Gmail signatures.

Make your signature show in replies

By default Gmail only adds your signature to brand new emails, not to replies or forwards. Two settings in the same Signature section control this.

First, under Signature defaults, pick which signature to use for new emails and which to use for replies and forwards. Choose the same one for both if you want it everywhere. Second, look for the checkbox that reads Insert this signature before quoted text in replies and remove the dashes line that precedes it. Left unchecked, your signature drops to the very bottom of a reply, under all the quoted history, which is why people think it vanished. Tick it and the signature sits neatly right under your reply, where the reader expects it.

Keep more than one signature

Gmail lets you store several signatures, which is handy if you want a full one for new contacts and a short one for quick replies. Create each the same way with Create new, then give each a clear name.

Once you have a few, you switch between them as you write. In the compose window, click the pen shaped Insert signature button in the toolbar, then pick the signature you want. It swaps the current one for your choice on the spot. You can also set different defaults so, for example, the long signature lands on new mail and the short one on replies, with no clicking at all. If you also run more than one Google account in the same browser, note that each account carries its own separate signatures. Our guide on managing multiple Gmail accounts covers keeping them apart.

The mobile signature is separate

This is the bit that trips everyone up. The signature you built on the web does not travel to the Gmail app. The app keeps its own signature, set inside the app. That one is plain text only. No image, logo or formatting carries over to mobile.

To set it:

1. Open the Gmail app, then tap the menu icon at the top left.
2. Scroll down and tap Settings.
3. Tap the account you want, then tap Signature settings on iPhone or Mobile Signature on Android.
4. Type your signature, then it saves on its own.

Because it is plain text, keep the mobile version short: your name, role and a phone number is plenty. Many people simply leave a one line mobile signature so replies sent on the move still look intentional.

Add a clickable phone number or logo

A couple of touches make a desktop signature more useful. To make a phone number tappable, type it in the signature, highlight it, click the link icon in the toolbar and enter tel:+91XXXXXXXXXX as the address. On a phone the reader can then tap to call you straight away.

For a logo or photo, use the image icon in the same toolbar. One rule decides whether it shows: the image has to be hosted somewhere public, such as your website or Google Drive with link sharing on. If it sits only on your computer, the recipient sees a broken image box instead. Keep the whole signature under Gmail's limit of 10,000 characters, which in practice means a few lines rather than a wall of text and links.

A signature can also be baked into a reusable reply, so it goes out with a full template every time. See our guide on setting up email templates in Gmail for that.

What to put in it

A signature works best when it is short. The reader wants to know who you are and how to reach you, not read a paragraph. A solid baseline is your name, your role and company, one phone number and one link, such as your website or a booking page.

A few things to skip. You do not need to repeat your email address, since it already sits in the From line. Long legal disclaimers, multiple social icons and inspirational quotes mostly add clutter, unless your workplace requires them. If you do use a logo, add a plain text version of the key details too, so the signature still reads on screens that block images. Four or five lines is the sweet spot for almost everyone.

Edit or remove a signature

Changing one later is just as quick. Open the same Settings, then See all settings, then the Signature section. Click the signature name to edit its text. To delete it for good, click the bin icon next to it. If you would rather keep it but stop it appearing automatically, set the Signature defaults to No signature, either for new mail, for replies or for both.