The Dot, Plus, and Googlemail Gmail Hacks

Here are some neat things regarding Google’s email I’ve found recently. They might not be new, but I think I need to jot them down here so I won’t forget these tips. These hacks could be helpful for fighting or tracing spam.

The Dot

Apparently, Gmail does not recognize the dot (or capitalization either) in gmail addresses. So yourusername@gmail.com is the same as your.user.name@gmail.com and all the different combinations are sent to your inbox.

The Plus

Did you know you have an unlimited amount of aliases with Gmail? You can receive messages that are sent to your.username+any.thing.you.want@gmail.com. For example, if you forced to register online, you can use Your.user.name+some.spammy.site@gmail.com. If you start getting spam, you ‘ll know who gave your address away and you can probably then set up a filter to automatically direct those messages to, oh, say, THE TRASH.

Googlemail.com=gmail.com

Of course, I don’t want to forget that yourusername@gmail.com is also the same as yourusername@googlemail.com. Mail from either address goes to your inbox. This is probably because they can’t use gmail.com in Europe. Just a reminder though, you’ll need to login with the original address you signed up with and some websites won’t accept symbols as valid email addresses. Still, I think these are pretty neat tricks.