Do you wish you could keep track of how your Gmail address is being used (i.e., when you sign up for something on the Web)? We featured a tip a while back about using the plus sign to create an alias from your Gmail addresses. The plus-addressing works like this: roger.smith121+paypal or julie.malinowsky+latimes @gmail.com . See? By adding a plus sign after you username and some identifying text after your username – you can create unlimited aliases from one Gmail account that can help you track how you’re email address is being use 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 a number of 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.
We’ll give you an example: If you’re Gmail address is rogersmith1211 @gmail.com you could add a period anywhere in your user name rogersm.ith1211 @gmail.com. You can’t change “@gmail.com” though. Another example? OK. You could do rogersmith12.11 @gmail.com – are you getting the idea?
Adding a period anywhere in your username is great for creating a few new aliases, but for tracking how your email address is being used, it’s probably not as useful as using the + sign. Still, it’s another cool Gmail trick that I’m sure many of you will figure out ways to use.
Never works. I have tried adding the + a few times and I always get a “please enter a valid email address” message. Removing the + portion eliminates the message. Clearly companies are on to this trick and don’t want to be caught spamming you….
Wouldn’t it work just as well to add the period instead of the + sign, between your email handle and the company that you’re trying to track? i.e. janedoe.latimes@gmail.com or roger.smith.paypal@gmail.com?
No, because the period would mean your actual true email address would have “paypal” or “latimes” in it, which I doubt it does.
Google is ignoring the period when it receives mail, or it is ignoring everything after the plus. Those rules can’t be broken or switched around.