How to Use a Gmail Mobile Signature

Cropped image of businessman holding document with signature
Astrakan Images / Getty Images
by Heinz Tschabitscher
An independent writer who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated April 22, 2019

Gmail has a few different ways of letting you add a signature to all of your messages. You can designate one signature for when sending mail from a computer and an entirely different one for when you use the Gmail mobile app, and even a different one from the mobile website.

Email signatures are a great way to save time when you want to get back to someone right away but still want to give the message a personal touch, whether for business or personal reasons.

The processes described below are for the Gmail mobile app and website only. There are entirely different steps for configuring an email signature on iPhone and other devices and email clients.

Set up a Signature for Mobile Use in Gmail

Configuring a mobile signature for Gmail is really easy to do but the steps are slightly different depending on whether you're using the mobile app or the mobile website.

Using the Gmail Mobile App

Setting up an email signature from the Gmail app does not apply the same signature to an email sent through the desktop website or the one sent through the mobile Gmail website as described below. See how to add a signature in Gmail if you'd rather make one for emails sent through the website.

Follow these steps to add a special signature to just the Gmail mobile app:

  1. Tap the menu icon at the top left.

  2. Scroll to the very bottom and tap Settings.

  3. Choose your email account at the top.

    Three iOS screens showing hamburger menu, Settings and email arrow in Gmail app on iOS
    Three iOS screens showing how to get into the settings.  Lifewire

  4. Tap Signature settings (iOS) or Signature (Android).

  5. On iOS, toggle the signature to the enabled/on position. Android users can skip to the next step.

  6. Enter your signature in the text area.

    Three iOS screens showing Signature settings, Mobile Signature toggle, and
    Three iOS screens showing Signature settings.  Lifewire

  7. On iOS devices, tap the back arrow to save the changes and return to the previous screen, or choose OK on Android.

How It Works On the Mobile Website

If your Gmail account is configured to use a signature from the desktop website as described in that link above, the mobile website will use the same signature. However, if that desktop signature is not enabled, the mobile signature will only work if you enable it as described below (it won't work from the mobile website if you enable it through the mobile app).

Here's how to do it from the mobile version of Gmail (i.e. accessing the mobile Gmail website from a device without using the Gmail app):

  1. Tap the menu icon at the top left of the screen.

  2. Choose the settings/gear icon at the top right, next to your email address.

  3. Toggle the Mobile Signature option to the on/enabled position.

  4. Enter the signature in the text box.

  5. Tap Apply to save the changes.

    Three iOS screens for Gmail on the web, showing hamburger menu, gear icon, and Apply button for Mobile Signature
    Three iOS screens for Gmail on the web.  Lifewire

  6. Tap Menu to go back to your email folders.

Important Facts About Gmail Email Signatures

When using a regular desktop signature in Gmail, you can clearly see the signature each time you compose a message. This makes it easy to edit the signature on the fly or even completely remove it for specific messages. This freedom, however, isn't an option when sending mail through the mobile app or the mobile website.

To completely remove the mobile signature requires that you go back into the settings from above and toggle the switch to the disabled/off position.

Also, unlike how the desktop Gmail signature can include images, hyperlinks and rich text formatting, the mobile signature only supports plain text.