tl;dr — As of May 30, 2022, Google no longer supports the Less Secure Apps feature that allowed third party programs (e.g. consignment software such as Peeps’ Software) to be able to send emails. This means, your consignment software likely will no longer be able to send emails from your Gmail account. Going forward, the already-available App Passwords feature in Gmail has to be utilized for sending emails.
This is all for the better too + it’s an easy fix! First, your Gmail account has to (*should) have Two-Factor Authentication (a.k.a. 2FA, 2-Step Verification, etc.) enabled. Head to your Gmail Security settings to see if 2FA is enabled and if not, to set it up. 2FA means going forward, in addition to entering your Gmail password when you log-in on a new device, you’ll also use either a simple ‘prompt’ that pops-up on your iPhone or Android device from Google, asking if it’s you or not, OR you can use an authenticator app (recommended) or SMS/text messages.
Once your Google 2-Step Verification setting is on, you’ll be able to create App Passwords:
Create an ‘Other (Custom Name)‘ password:
And give it a name — e.g. Peeps’ Software:
Once you click the Generate button, you’ll be given a unique password you can now use in your consignment software!
Just copy and paste (or type) the special password into your SMTP Settings — where you’d normally enter your actual Gmail password:
Voila! You can now send email again!
Another added benefit to using App Passwords is you never have to worry about updating your SMTP password in your consignment software, if you change your actual Gmail password. 🙂 App Passwords (or the equivalent) may also be required for other email platforms — e.g. Outlook.com. The same principles apply — enable 2FA, create a password, use that password as the SMTP password in your consignment software.
All of this is built-in to Peeps’ Software as well, so your Gmail Security Settings are available directly from within Peeps’ Software. 🙂
Dean
I am a Software Developer, System Administrator, and consignment software specialist. I currently manage hundreds of consignment workstations, point of sale systems, and database servers all across North America and I am the developer of Peeps' Software, Peeps2Go, and Peeps' Consignor Login for iOS and Android. I've been helping consignment & resale store-owners since 2003. I started The Computer Peeps in February of 2010. Peeps' Software launched in 2016 and is now on hundreds of systems all across North America. I have successfully converted dozens of stores from all of the major consignment software systems. After 20 years of working with consignment stores, I understand the unique challenges consignment & resale store-owners face. From electrical issues in old buildings or strip malls, to advocating for them when their old consignment software keeps crashing.