Forwarding between two accounts can create redundant delivery routes or confusing repeated copies. Trace the actual path before calling it an infinite loop: providers may detect, reject, or otherwise limit circular forwarding. Compare one harmless message and the settings on both sides.
Map every enabled route
- Record each account’s general forwarding destination.
- Inspect filters that forward selected messages.
- Check other providers, import processes, and administrator routing where relevant.
- Draw a simple source-to-destination list showing which account should retain the original.
For example, forwarding A to B while B also forwards to A is different from one message being displayed under two labels in a single mailbox. A combined inbox can make those cases look similar.
Compare the originals and headers
Use Show original to inspect Message-ID and delivery details for suspected copies. Matching subjects are not enough to determine whether a new submission, a forwarding hop, or a client view caused the repetition.
Keep private addresses and full headers in an approved support channel. A user-level setting may not expose an organization’s administrator-managed route, so ask the administrator when the path remains unexplained.
Remove the redundant route deliberately
Agree which account should be the final destination and which source copies must remain. Disable only the unnecessary forwarding action, coordinating first if other users rely on it.
Send one harmless new test and confirm the result in both accounts. Do not create more forwarding rules as a way to compensate for a route you have not understood.
Fix the route before cleaning historical copies. A broad deduplication based on subject or date can erase legitimate revisions, and deleting a message from one label can affect all views of the same underlying Gmail item.
Do not weaken authentication or use a different account to evade loop prevention. Keep source and destination access available until the new workflow is verified, and treat forwarding as a live routing choice rather than a complete backup or migration system.
Browse Gmail & Google Account help
References
- Automatically forward Gmail messages to another account
- Best practices for forwarding email to Gmail
- Trace an email with its full header
- Redirect or forward Gmail messages to another user | Google Workspace Help
Reviewed against the linked product guidance, standards, and identified vendor or public-authority guidance on October 29, 2026. Available options and screen labels can vary by account, device, region, and organization policy.