How to Create Gmail Aliases Using Your Gmail Address. Period

How to Create Gmail Aliases Using Your Gmail Address. Period

Aliases can be good or bad. The aliases we’re talking about today are good ones, like the “Alias Smith and Jones” TV show of old – so don’t worry.

Today, we’re going to show you how to use Gmail aliases to help you track how your email address is being used – i.e., when you sign up for something on the Web – and how it’s being misused — i.e. when you sign up for something on the Web. 

So listen up (or read up!) and we will show yow to use a plus sign to create aliases from your Gmail address(es).

We call it “plus-addressing”. We don’t know what other people call it. Plus-addressing looks like this: roger.smith121+paypal or julie.malinowsky+latimes @gmail.com.

More boldly…

Eye-M.Mr.Tibbs+Muffinville@gmail.com 

How does this help you track how your Gmail address is being used or abused. Well, if Mr. Tibbs, uses the plus-addressing as above, and uses it to subscribe to “Muffinville Games”, Mr. Tibbs will know if Muffinville Games is sharing his email address if he starts getting email addressed to Eye-M.Mr.Tibbs+Muffinville@gmail.com. Caught ya, you silly muffin!

By adding a plus sign after your username and then adding some identifying text, you can create unlimited aliases from one Gmail account. These aliases can help you track how you’re email address is being used… and misused.

But did you know you can also create a limited number of aliases by simply adding a “.” (period ) anywhere in your Gmail username. This allows you to created many new ‘alias’‘ email addresses. Of course, you can then track all the messages sent to you new “period alias” because they will all get forwarded to your primary Gmail address.

You can add as many periods (.) as you want. Let’s give you some examples: If your Gmail address is rogersmith1211 @gmail.com you could add a period(s) anywhere in your user name rogersm.ith1211 @gmail.com. You can’t change “@gmail.com” though. Another example? OK. You could us ro.ger.smith.12.11 @gmail.com – are you getting the idea?

More boldly…

ZGil.Hark.Bird.47.92@gmail.com

is the same as

zgilharkbird4792@gmail.com

Gil could also use

zGil.Hark.Bird.47.92+Muffinville@gmail.com

If those are real addresses, may heaven help ya, Gil.

Adding a period anywhere in your username is great for creating new aliases, but for tracking how your email address is being used, it’s not as useful as “plus addressing” (using the + sign). Still, it’s another great Gmail trick that I’m sure many of you will figure out many ways to use.