Matt Rammelkamp's Blog: How to set up multiple email addresses for iMessage

How to use additional send and receive e-mails with iMessage

iMessage is great way to send and receive text and multimedia images with any iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad running iOS 5 or higher, as well as any Mac running OS X Mountain Lion. Along with receiving iMessages at your phone number on the iPhone, you can receive iMessages at your Apple ID email address on iOS and OS X as well. But what if you've got more than one email address and you want to be able to use all of them with iMessages?

For example, maybe you don't want to give your phone number or personal, primary Apple ID away to just everyone, but instead want to have an extra address, or addresses, to give out to those who aren't close friends or family? Or if you want one just for a temporary job you're doing? Luckily, you can do just that.

Before you can start using an email address for iMessage, however, you'll need to make sure it's not an existing Apple ID. If your email addresses are @icloud.com, @me.com, or @mac.com your email address is automatically an Apple ID. If you have an iTunes account, the email address associated with that, and with FaceTime, are also automatically Apple IDs.

You can only have one Apple ID linked to iMessage account at a time. However, if you have additional, non-Apple ID email addresses you'd like to use with iMessage, such as Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail accounts that aren't connected as an Apple ID, you can set those up.

How to add additional email addresses to iMessage on iPhone, iPad, & iPod touch

Launch the Settings app from the Home screen of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Scroll down and tap into the Messages section.
Tap on the Send & Receive section.

Choose the option labeled Add Another E-mail... under the iMessage at: section.

Type in the secondary email address you'd like to use with iMessage. Remember, it can't be an existing Apple ID.

Wait until you receive an email from Apple verifying the address you are trying to add.
Click the link in it in order to verify it.

Once verified you can start sending and receiving iMessages at any email address you've added.

How to add additional e-mails to iMessage in Mac OS X Mountain Lion

Launch the Messages app on your Mac.

From the main Mac menu along the top choose Messages and then click on Preferences.

Under the Accounts tab, click on your iMessage account.

To the right, you'll see a section labeled as You can be reached for messages at:. Click the "+" sign and type in the e-mail address you'd like to be able to send and receive iMessages at. You'll already see your main Apple ID listed.

Apple will attempt to verify this e-mail by sending a message to that e-mail address. Once you receive it, click the link it contains in order to complete the verification process.