Neat Gmail feature

[OGC]

I came across this cool feature for gmail (http://www.digitalalchemy.tv/2006/09/use-gmail-generate-unlimited-e-mail.html)

Gmail has an interesting quirk where you can add a plus sign (+) after your Gmail address, and it'll still get to your inbox. It's called plus-addressing, and it essentially gives you an unlimited number of e-mail addresses to play with. Here's how it works: say your address is pinkyrocks@gmail.com, and you want to automatically label all work e-mails. Add a plus sign and a phrase to make it pinkyrocks+work@gmail.com and set up a filter to label it work (to access your filters go to Settings->Filters and create a filter for messages addressed to pinkyrocks+work@gmail.com. Then add the label work).

More real world examples:

Find out who is spamming you: Be sure to use plus-addressing for every form you fill out online and give each site a different plus address.

Example: You could use
pinkyrocks+nytimes@gmail.com for nytimes.com
pinkyrocks+freestuff@gmail.com for freestuff.com
Then you can tell which site has given your e-mail address to spammers, and automatically send them to the trash.

[Devo37]

just tried it and it definitely works. i wonder if this is a quirk or an unadvertised feature?

also just tried mailinator (http://www.mailinator.com) from the link in your post. pretty cool way to get a disposable email address when you don't want to give out your real one.

[OGC]

I don't think it is a quirk.

It won't eliminate your junk mail, but it will allow you to find out who is distributing your address and allow you to easily sort them into the trash.

I still use my yahoo email when I absolutely don't trust a website.

[Devo37]

I still use my yahoo email when I absolutely don't trust a website.

yeah, i have a bunch of accounts that i use when i don't want to give my real address. pretty effective at keeping my real account clean, and i can just forward any legit emails i get on my 'fake' accounts.

[CaptainBlowhole]

For some reason I can't really understand what you guys are saying that you are doing different. Can you explain it differently?
The plus you are putting, is it in your address book or in the email address you are sending the to? Its not clear where this plus goes.

[OGC]

For some reason I can't really understand what you guys are saying that you are doing different. Can you explain it differently?
The plus you are putting, is it in your address book or in the email address you are sending the to? Its not clear where this plus goes.

Let's suppose your gmail address was CaptainBlowhole@gmail.com. If you wanted to subscribe to SmuttyBabes.com, but are worried that they will sell your email address to spammers, you could give your emaill address as CaptainBlowhole+smuttybabes@gmail.com.

Lets say that smuttybabes.com sells your email to ErectionsAreUs.com (and maybe thousands of other sites). When ErectionsAreUs.com sends their spam to your gmail account, the 'to' address would be CaptainBlowhole+smuttybabes@gmail.com. Then you can set up a filter to automatically delete any emails that come with +smuttybabes in the to address.

Any mail that comes from anyone that smuttybabes.com sold, your address to would contain the "+smuttybabes" and be filtered out also.

[CaptainBlowhole]

Thank you! I appreciate the clarification. Sometimes my mind fails to grasp the most basic things!

[ChimneyFish]

I just got a gmail account, because my yahoo address is my full name.

This is a really cool feature that I did not notice.

Thanks!!!!

[frye hole]

not to be a dick, but wouldn't the spammer just have to know to ignore anything after a plus sign in the email address to get the original account name?

[OGC]

not to be a dick, but wouldn't the spammer just have to know to ignore anything after a plus sign in the email address to get the original account name?


shhh, don't tell them .

as long as it works it'll be a cool feature, when/if the spammers find a way around it, gmail will be just the same as other providers.

[PapaBear]

I'm bumping this, because this thread just helped me IMMENSELY!

I often have clueless people ask me to do their taxes for them using the free version of Turbo Tax. Yes, I know... It's so easy, there's no reason they shouldn't be able to do it themselves. Anyway... One problem with TT, is you can only use your email address for one person's tax return. Using the "+" method, followed by a word that tells me who I'm doing a particular return for, solves this problem perfectly!

[Dude!]

also makes it easier
to account for all
the refunds you
keep for yourself