There are many times when you might need a new Gmail ID. Many websites and subscriptions have deals aimed at new customers, and this is especially true for streaming platforms. So, if you’ve subscribed to something before and want to access the bargain prices again, the logical thing to do would be to just create a new Gmail account.
But you don’t have to. Did you know that? Gmail doesn’t recognize any dots in an email? So, if your ID is thisismyemail@gmail.com, then if you write this.is.my.email@gmail.com, this.is.myemail@gmail.com or this.ismyemail@gmail.com, Gmail won’t notice the difference – like This 2008 Gmail blog post clarifies. In fact, you can enter as many periods as you want and you will still receive mails delivered to your primary ID.
Gmail has always had this feature, and as someone using my account for over two decades, I’ve used this trick endlessly to sign up for websites and filter emails. Here’s what you need to know about Gmail aliases and how you can start using them with your email account.
Why you should start using Gmail nicknames
Creating new Gmail IDs is a hassle. Although the service does not cost anything, there is no reason to do so if all you have to do is register as a new customer on the site or streaming platform where you previously provided your primary ID.
All you need to do is add a dot anywhere in your existing email ID and that’s it! You are a new user where you signed up, but you will still receive the email on your primary Gmail ID. I use it to subscribe to the NYT and Bloomberg every year as a new user, which costs more. While all other websites distinguish between thisismyemail@gmail.com and this.is.my.email@gmail.com as two different email IDs, Gmail doesn’t care if there are dots in an email address, which basically makes it very convenient to come up with unique email IDs when you sign up for a website — all without actually creating a new Gmail account.
On that note, Gmail aliases are a great way to determine if a website is selling your data to marketers. In addition to dots, you can add a + login after your email address and type any combination of letters or numbers and still deliver the email to your email ID. I do this when I sign up for a newsletter or subscribe to email alerts. I buy a lot of items at IKEA, so I have to provide an email ID to subscribe to the notification alerts, I just give thisismyemail+ikea@gmail.com and the email appears in the main mail ID.
That way, if you ever get spam at the address you mentioned (thisismyemail+ikea@gmail.com), you’ll know that IKEA shares your information with third-party brokers (by the way, IKEA doesn’t, but you get the idea). I do the same trick when signing up for e-commerce sites that require an email id.
How to use Gmail nicknames
You don’t have to do much to start using Gmail aliases. There are no settings to change or configure, and just remember to add a dot (or ten) when signing up with your Gmail ID on the service you used before.
same thing with + sign; you can use as many variations of these as possible and the only thing to note here is that you should do this before doing this. @ tick, so thisismyemail+bestbuy@gmail.com will be fine, but not thisismyemail+best@buygmail.com.
Both methods work without issue and I have been using both for decades now. To be honest, I’m only writing about this now because in recent conversations with friends and family, I’ve realized that it’s not something that everyone knows about. So, if you’ve had to create multiple Gmail accounts over the years to get a new email ID, know that you don’t have to — you can just add or put a dot or a + at signup anywhere.
