It’s Time to Enable Gmail Package Tracking

No one would blame you for forgetting that Gmail was supposed pick-up a new package tracking feature. Google announced the change last November and then I’m not sure we heard another word about it again. This week, the internet discovered that the new feature has started rolling out, but it did so quietly and requires manual action from you to go active.

As you can see in the screenshot that was shared at the end of last year, when your account has been flagged to use the new feature, a notice should talk about Google being able to “Track your packages in Gmail” with buttons for “allow” or “not now.” However, that notice may not have shown on your account yet, but you can still manually enable.

The folks at 9to5Google shared the tip that if you head into your Android phone’s Gmail settings, you should be able to find a box for “Package tracking.” I was able to see the setting on a personal Gmail account by going into Settings (swipe out side bar in Gmail, scroll way down) and then tapping through each account I wanted package tracking on. If allowed, the box pictured here can be checked.

I will note that my GSuite account does not have the option, only my personal Gmail account did.

Since I’ve only turned this on today, I have no idea if it’s handy or not. When active, it should show you an estimate of delivery from your inbox and also within related emails. Google does say that they are sharing “tracking numbers for your packages with shipping carriers” in order for this to work, so keep that in mind.

Let’s track, baby.