How does Gmail two-step verification affect Apple Mail?

gwesq wrote:

I read all my email in my Apple Mail account,

No, you don't. You may be reading your email through Apple's Mail app that has nothing to do with your Apple Account. It's just an email client that can access email from different accounts. Your Apple account is not involved in this at all.

where I have my 4 gmail accounts showing up in the apple mail account. (I don't recall how I incorporated them - it was done years ago by someone who helped me set up the mail. I'd like to add another account but can't recall how to do that - OLD BRAIN).

Yes, you add email accounts to the mail App, by going to the Mail menu in the Mail app, then on Accounts and then on Add Account.

I have been getting messages supposedly from google for each account, telling me I must set up 2 step verification for each account. If I do not do so by July 9, I will lose access to the account. If I set up the 2 step, will I have to verify my account every time I try to open one of the many dozens of emails I get each day?

Probably not. You may need to set up an app specific password for each account though to log into it once not the Apple Mail app. Once that is done, it should not ask for the 2 step verification just to read email.

Or would that be a one time thing for each account?

Probably just a one time thing.

Is that something that would carry over into the apple mail where I get these emails, or am I going to have to go to google site for each email? I'm confused - can someone explain it like I am almost 80 years old? THank you

You will need to go to the Gmail website and log in to each account to set up the 2-step verification for them first, then will need to re-log with each email address on the Mail app.

click here:

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185839?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop