Yandex Mail already handles multiple accounts well: in a browser, you can keep up to 15 Yandex accounts signed in and switch between them from your profile picture, and the Yandex Mail mobile app holds several mailboxes. Yandex has no desktop app of its own, so on a computer your other choices are an email client over IMAP or WebCatalog Desktop. The last option fits when you want two Yandex inboxes open at the same time in separate windows, each grouped with the apps you use for that account.
Switch accounts in the browser
Yandex accounts are Yandex IDs, and Yandex ID has a built-in account switcher:
- Sign in to Yandex Mail with your first account.
- Click your profile picture in the upper-right corner.
- Choose to add an account and sign in with the second Yandex ID.
- To switch later, click your profile picture again and pick the account from the list.
You don't need to re-enter passwords to switch, and the list holds up to 15 accounts. To remove one, switch to it and log out; Yandex moves you to the next account in the list.
For most people with a personal and a work Yandex address, this is enough. The switcher is built for moving between accounts in one browser, not for watching two inboxes side by side.
Use the Yandex Mail mobile app
The Yandex Mail app for iOS and Android supports several accounts. On Android, swipe right from the left edge, tap the plus sign at the top, and sign in; to switch, swipe right again and tap the account's picture. You can also long-press the app icon on your home screen and pick an account. The app can add mailboxes from other providers too, as described in Yandex's app help.
Add Yandex accounts to an email client
Yandex says plainly that Yandex Mail doesn't have a desktop application. If you prefer Apple Mail, Outlook, or Thunderbird, you can add each Yandex account over IMAP. In Yandex Mail's settings, open Email clients, turn on IMAP access from the imap.yandex.com server, and allow App passwords and OAuth tokens. Then create an app password in Yandex ID and use it in your client instead of your normal password. Yandex's Outlook guide walks through the steps.
Repeat this for every account. Many clients can show all your mail together, but you lose Yandex Mail's own web features and need a separate app password per account.
Keep Yandex accounts open side by side with WebCatalog Desktop
WebCatalog Desktop (macOS, Windows, and Linux) turns Yandex Mail's web version into a desktop app with its own window and Dock or taskbar icon. With profiles, which keep cookies, sessions, and browsing data separate, each Yandex ID stays signed in at once in its own window, so there's no switching back and forth.
- Open WebCatalog Desktop and go to Profiles.
- Select Add profile and give it a clear name, such as "Personal" or "Shop".
- Open Yandex Mail with that profile and sign in with that Yandex ID.
- Add another profile for each account you want open at the same time.
Because a profile holds the whole Yandex ID session, other Yandex web apps opened with the same profile use the same account. Open Yandex Disk with your Shop profile, and you'll see that account's files next to its mail. The profile guide covers editing and removing profiles.
If you run several projects, spaces group each project's apps in its own window, for example a Shop space with its Yandex Mail, Yandex Disk, and order tools. Spaces only organize apps; profiles keep the logins separate.
FAQ
Do I still need Yandex's switcher if I use profiles?
Not for the accounts you've given their own profiles. You can still use the switcher inside a profile, though. If two accounts are always used together, such as a shop's sales and support addresses, keeping both in one profile's switcher may be simpler than two windows.
Conclusion
Yandex's switcher handles occasional switching, and IMAP covers people who live in an email client. When you want several Yandex inboxes open at once, download WebCatalog Desktop and give each account its own profile.
