Q: How are Gmail aliases used?
A: Email is an essential part of digital life, but if you only use one address for everything you do, your inbox can become overwhelming and difficult to feel like you have any control of your messages.
If you find yourself hesitating to interact with an online resource because you don’t want to deal with unwanted junk mail, having more than one address allows you to control your own destiny.
While you can sign up for multiple email accounts, using the aliases that Gmail allows is a much better approach.
Think about all the segments of your digital life: travel, shopping, newsletters, financial matters, job applications, school activities, free trial offers, online forums, and events, which can all have their own email aliases.
There are two steps to making use of them, and once you get the hang of it, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without them.
Creating Gmail aliases
Gmail makes it easy to be creative with your aliases because it ignores two things in any email address: dots and anything after a plus sign.
For instance, if your primary address is [email protected], then [email protected], and [email protected] will also flow into your inbox.
Alternatively, you can add tags using the + symbol to create useful aliases such as [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].
There’s no limit to the number of aliases you can create, but the power of using them is harnessed with filters.
Aliases let you instantly create meaningful context around the emails you receive:
- Sort Automatically: Set Gmail filters to label, archive, or prioritize messages based on the alias.
- Spot Data Leaks: If you get spam at [email protected], you know who sold your info.
- Simplify Unsubscribing: Use a +promo tag and set up a filter to archive or delete anything sent to it automatically.
How to set up filters
- Go to Gmail Settings (the gear icon in the upper right corner) > See All Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses
- Click Create a new filter
- In the To field, enter your alias (e.g. [email protected])
- Choose actions like applying a label, skipping the inbox, or marking it as read
Once you create the filter, everything with that alias will become an automated part of your inbox.
It’s like having dozens of specialty email accounts that all reside in one place instead of having to sign in and out of multiple accounts.
Do other email services support aliases?
Q: How are Gmail aliases used?
A: Email is an essential part of digital life, but if you only use one address for everything you do, your inbox can become overwhelming and difficult to feel like you have any control of your messages.
If you find yourself hesitating to interact with an online resource because you don’t want to deal with unwanted junk mail, having more than one address allows you to control your own destiny.
While you can sign up for multiple email accounts, using the aliases that Gmail allows is a much better approach.
Think about all the segments of your digital life: travel, shopping, newsletters, financial matters, job applications, school activities, free trial offers, online forums, and events, which can all have their own email aliases.
There are two steps to making use of them, and once you get the hang of it, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without them.
Creating Gmail Aliases
Gmail makes it easy to be creative with your aliases because it ignores two things in any email address: dots and anything after a plus sign.
For instance, if your primary address is [email protected], then [email protected], and [email protected] will also flow into your inbox.
Alternatively, you can add tags using the + symbol to create useful aliases such as [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].
There’s no limit to the number of aliases you can create, but the power of using them is harnessed with filters.
Aliases let you instantly create meaningful context around the emails you receive:
- Sort Automatically: Set Gmail filters to label, archive, or prioritize messages based on the alias.
- Spot Data Leaks: If you get spam at [email protected], you know who sold your info.
- Simplify Unsubscribing: Use a +promo tag and set up a filter to archive or delete anything sent to it automatically.
How to set up filters
- Go to Gmail Settings (the gear icon in the upper right corner) > See All Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses
- Click Create a new filter
- In the To field, enter your alias (e.g. [email protected])
- Choose actions like applying a label, skipping the inbox, or marking it as read
- Once you create the filter, everything with that alias will become an automated part of your inbox.
It’s like having dozens of specialty email accounts that all reside in one place instead of having to sign in and out of multiple accounts.
Do other email services support aliases?
Yes, some do – here’s a quick overview:
- Outlook.com: Fully supports +aliases and also lets you create multiple true aliases that feed into your main account (https://bit.ly/4k8qnAC)
- Yahoo Mail: Doesn’t support +tags but does offer “disposable addresses” with customizable tags (https://yhoo.it/4dFZYYz)
- iCloud: Apple allows you to create up to 3 aliases (https://apple.co/43o8Qxb)
- If you’re using another email client, check your settings in the mailbox area, as you might have similar tools available.
Email aliases are one of the easiest ways to cut through the clutter and get more control over your inbox. It’s a low-tech solution with high-impact results that is so easy to set up and use.
The post How to use and create email aliases appeared first on KTAR.
