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Yes, this has been asked before, but neither really addresses my concern, and I don't have reputation enough to add comments to existing questions.

I've bought the cheapest Android 4 tablet with Google Play that I could find to have a device in the kitchen that syncs the family members schedules and displays them all in one place, edit shopping lists that sync with my mobile, shows the recipe I'm following while cooking etc.

As all family members are going to use it, I want syncronization of calendars, and I want to use my Google-account for which I have already purchased apps for my phone as the Google account in Google Play on the tablet, but I do not, however, want the whole family to be able to access my email. So how can I turn off Gmail access?

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LapplandsCohan
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    Not sure if you can remove just one component such as GMail from Google Apps! And in order to remove it would require rooting and nuke the GMail application from the tablet, but then again, the current set up is extremely awkward, as anyone could go into play store and re-download the GMail app itself... Only thing I can think of is and its permitting, if there's a JB upgrade for the tablet which enables multi-user accounts... – t0mm13b Jan 10 '13 at 21:45
  • Yup, this all comes down to "you want Android 4.2 with multi-user support". All other solutions will be based on some dirty hacks and stuff that in my experience just causes a lot of pain. But maybe I am wrong. – Flow Jan 10 '13 at 23:47
  • I don't want a multi user login procedure if it can be avoided. – LapplandsCohan Jan 11 '13 at 15:27
  • You might also want to check the questions tagged kiosk-mode. – Izzy Aug 02 '13 at 09:20

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As noted in the answers to the questions you linked to it isn't possible to just sign out of the Gmail application and not other Google services.

In order to achieve the functionality you want though have you considered using an application lock such as APP Lock? With this you can require a PIN to open the Gmail app. Whilst it doesn't turn off email access it will prevent the whole family from being able to access your mail.

N.B. If you have kids using it as well then it might be worth requiring a PIN in order to purchase anything on the Play store, this might prevent some nasty surprises appearing on your credit card bill. You can see how to do this here.

Peanut
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  • @LapplandsCohan No problem, glad I could help. – Peanut Jan 11 '13 at 08:47
  • This solution will likely not stop a knowledgable hacker, however (not OP's use case, but other visitors might be looking for that level of protection). – Muhd Aug 21 '17 at 06:52
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Why couldn't you just make another google account (they are free) named something like [email protected] and use it to sign on?

It would make it easy for the family then share family events with that calendar and keep their own calendar private using the invite function built into calendar.

William
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    Because I want to use some apps I've already purchased for other devices with my current Google account. Though perhaps it's possible to install the apps, remove the Google account, create another and then still use the apps purchased and installed by the previous account? – LapplandsCohan Jan 17 '13 at 11:39
  • You will be able to install them, but depending on the app it may care who is logged in. Secondly I think you have multiple Google accounts on the same device. but we are talking about a tablet that you only want to use in the kitchen for kitchen type stuff, there can't be that many apps in this category. – William Jan 19 '13 at 14:21
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Go to Settings > Apps > Gmail > Disable.

geffchang
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  • Great idea. So the kid then just has to go to Settings > Apps > Gmail > Enable to revert this, right? Very safe option. – Izzy Aug 02 '13 at 09:18
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    Perhaps not a safe solution, but a solution if you're only looking to block accidential email access and you're not worried about deliberate attempts to reach your mail. However, I don't se an Enable/Disable option in Settings > Apps > Gmail – LapplandsCohan Aug 02 '13 at 09:42