Submitted by Bomblord1 t3_11efmpx in LifeProTips
ex: lifeprotips@gmail.com and life.protips@gmail.com would both go to the same inbox but most services consider them separate emails which can be useful for getting new subscriber deals for various services.
* the period cannot be at the beginning or end of the address.
I do this when using my email to sign up for anything. I add the name of what I'm signing up for. Helps me identify what websites have sold my info, and to whom.
Some data brokers filter those out. Use an email alias forwarding service such as SimpleLogin. Bonus is you can turn off that email box if it gets sold and no longer receive email.
Proton, the now dead helm, and other email providers who aren’t google provide catch all or wildcard addresses for a low fee. It’s not easy for the non tech savvy, but if you are then it’s trivial to configure.
> Proton, the now dead helm
Wdym?
https://www.thehelm.com/ Helm used to be a turnkey self hosted email service. https://proton.me/mail Proton is a privacy focused (still work with LE for criminal investigations) email service.
Oohhh, I thought you were calling Proton a “dead helm”, not just naming another service. Got it.
Yeah I wish Helm survived. I was so close to pulling that trigger when it was announced.
I had the V1 from very early days. It wasn’t flawless but it was easy enough to use for my spouse, and worked with most email clients which proton does not.
Good to know, I was not aware of that. I usually use a spam email address anyway, but it's nice to have options.
Wait, so my gmail address--the one I registered with--is firstname.lastname; does this mean that anything addressed to firstnamelastname (without the period) will still route to me? It must, right?
Eta: I appreciate all the useful info! For ages I've kept the same three active gmail accounts: one personal, one business/"official", and one for subscriptions, lists, throw-away sign-ups, etc. The lines are starting to blur, though; these tips will help reorganize. Thanks everyone.
Yes. So you could sign up for websites using either iteration, you’ll receive emails all the same. But I would recommend sticking with one to sign up for websites or you’ll have to play the “which one is my sign in address” game like me.
Use a password manager. Bitwarden integrates with services such as SimpleLogin to create an alias and forward the email. I use one called SimpleLogin.
It should!
I have firstname.lastname but frequently get emails for firstnamelastname or firstname.lastname@googlemail.com. Is the other person using the incorrect address or does it sometimes go through?
Same! I created my email as first ame.lastname and There’s three other people who use firstnamelastname. One from from my own country but different state, one from the UK, and one from Australia. The foreign get doctor appointment reminders fairly often. Why aren’t they missing them?
Yeah I frequently get emails to some other address without the . I have in my address.
This silliness is no doubt why
My gmail address has always had a couple periods in it, because they don't allow underscores. Are you telling my that if I took them out, the mail would still go to me?
Yes. Gmail ignores dots before the @. You can have as many dots as you want in your username, or none
That's news to me lol. Mine has 2 dots before the @ lol
Jokes in you.
My email is tall.proley@gmail.com
But another tall proley is Tallproley@gmail.com
Gmail doesn't interpret his properly so I get stuff.
For example, one tall proley works as a state prosecutor in the DAs office. I get case briefings and asked for trial strategy inputs. I am not American, nor am I lawyer. I clarify this point usually after demanding the death penalty for DUI charges.
Another tall proley has a GNC membership, I know his points balance. Haven't tried password retrieval.
Last week, I got an email from snapchat regarding a login from a new device. I haven't used snapchat in a decade. But it had a link to change my password if the login wasn't me.
So I clicked it in case my old account had been breached. I set a random new password, and it logged me in. As I' sure you can guess, it was not my snapchat.
My Gmail explodes with snapchat emails: forgotten password, forgotten password, password change request, boom boom boom boom, customer service reaching out to help, forgotten password, etc...
About 20 minutes later I guess he set up two factor authentication to a mobile number.
So beware.
You can also change @gmail to @googlemail
I use this to sign up for anything that you use once and never need again but there are many uses. The email only lasts 10 minutes but the account will stay. Some websites won't allow this domain though. I mostly use it for free ebook downloads that need emails. Cheers to limiting what data corporations can steal from you.
same inbox? which one? or both of them will get the email? Isn't that kinda a security risk?
Same inbox, not a security risk, you see which version the email was sent to
How do I change my email adress but keep the same google account I’m sick of all the spam emails my email has got leaked in data breaches and it’s so fucked up now.
You kind of need to start over. When you do, use a Forwarded Email Alias service. They generate a random email address and forward it to your main account. The one I like is called SimpleLogin, and it integrates with Bitwarden Password Manager. The tip the OP posted and using + addresses some data brokers filter out.
Problem is I’m linked to a lot of accounts with this google account I have and I have 2fa active so iv never been hacked but I get so many phishing emails that don’t get filtered to spam.
Too late for that, it’s a preventative measure going forward - don’t give you your main email and chastise anyone who uses it without permission
So if I signed up using first.last@ and someone else by chance uses firstlast@, would they end up going to the same email or would they get an error when trying to set that up?
The second user, trying to sign up for firstlast@ should get an unavailable error from Google when they try to register that account.
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips!
Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment.
If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
[removed]
[removed]
Yes someone from Cleveland did that to my email. I get Cleveland related discounts and coupons.
Just tried it.Didnt work.Or maybe I'm not understanding.Original email: "jsmith123@gmail.com".Extra . version"jsmith.123@gamil.com". Sent at the same time.Only original arrived in inbox.
What’s a Gamil?
It's a free email service provided by Gaggle. Look into it.
Yeah the issue there is not spelling gmail right
Oh interesting. I new about appending with +, but not about this.
[removed]
[removed]
Wow this is very useful. Thank you
theannotator t1_jadp8d6 wrote
You can also add a + tag inline such as email address+companyname@gmail.com and it will be auto labeled.