How to use 1 Email Address as Unlimited Email Aliases

email_aliases.md

Using 1 Email Address as Unlimited Email Aliases

Many email providers, such as Gmail, allow you to create unlimited aliases from a single email address using dots (.) and plus (+) symbols. This guide will show you how to take advantage of these features for organizing your emails, signing up for services, or even tracking spam.

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Why Use Email Aliases?

1. Organize Incoming Emails: Use aliases to automatically filter and label emails.
2. Track Services: Know which service is leaking your email by customizing your aliases.
3. Spam Protection: Quickly create unique aliases for websites you don’t fully trust.

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1. Dot (.) Aliases

How It Works:

If your email is [email protected], Gmail ignores dots in the local part of the email (before the @). This means:

• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]

All of these will be delivered to the same inbox as [email protected].

Practical Usage:

• Use variations like [email protected] when signing up for different services.
• Gmail will still treat all emails with dots as if they came to the original [email protected].

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2. Plus (+) Aliases

How It Works:

You can add a + followed by any string after your email name (before the @). For example:

• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]

All emails sent to these addresses will still arrive in the [email protected] inbox.

Practical Usage:

• Use [email protected] for shopping websites.
• Use [email protected] for work-related registrations.
• Easily filter emails by their alias in Gmail.

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3. Combining Dot (.) and Plus (+) Aliases

You can combine dots and the plus symbol for even more flexibility:

• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]

These variations still deliver emails to [email protected].

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4. Setting Up Filters in Gmail

Automatically Label and Organize Emails:

1. Go to Gmail Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses.
2. Click Create a new filter.
3. In the To field, enter the alias you want to filter (e.g., [email protected]).
4. Click Create filter.
5. Choose actions like Apply a label, Skip the inbox, or Forward.

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5. Example Use Cases

1. Shopping Websites: Use [email protected] to register on shopping sites. If you get spam, you'll know where it originated.

2. Work and Personal Separation:

   • Work emails: [email protected]
   • Personal emails: [email protected]

3. Newsletter Tracking: Use [email protected] to subscribe to newsletters and filter them into a specific folder.

4. Test Accounts: Use different aliases for testing sign-up processes: [email protected], [email protected], etc.

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6. Other Providers Supporting + Aliases

While the dot trick is Gmail-specific, many providers (e.g., Outlook, ProtonMail) also support the plus (+) alias feature.

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Tips for Using Aliases

• Avoid using aliases for sensitive accounts (e.g., banking).
• Regularly check and clean up filters in your email to maintain organization.
• Keep a list of aliases for easy reference.

Enjoy managing your inbox like a pro!