Gmail’s hidden trick: One inbox, endless custom addresses

For those who read this newsletter, you’re probably aware that Gmail can do a lot more than most people think. But there’s one neat trick you may not know about and it’s called “plus addressing.” Add a plus sign and a word of your choosing after your address, and Gmail will deliver the message to your main inbox. Go ahead and give it a try: send a test email to youraddress+test@gmail.com. It lands right where your regular mail does.

So that’s cool, but what’s the point?

First, you can sort your mail without lifting a finger. Gmail’s filters let you search for a specific plus address and route it straight to a label or folder. Set up a filter for “+shopping,” and every receipt and promo lands in one place, out of your main inbox.

Second (this is why I use it), you can catch companies that sell your address info. If youraddress+pcworldgiveaway@gmail.com starts getting spam from unrelated senders, you know exactly which website sold or leaked your information—not that they’d ever do such a thing, of course.

There’s a catch, though. Not every website accepts a plus sign in an email address. Some sign-up forms will reject it outright or throw an error. When that happens, you can fall back to a temporary email service or just use your regular address instead.

Plus, addressing is really easy to set up and you don’t have to create new accounts. Give it a try next time you sign up for something new.

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