What Is the Gmail Plus Trick?
The Gmail plus trick (also called plus addressing or subaddressing) lets you add a +tag to your Gmail username. Everything after the + is ignored during delivery, so all mail arrives in your main inbox. The technique is defined in RFC 5233.
[email protected] → [email protected] inbox
[email protected] → [email protected] inbox
[email protected] → [email protected] inbox
[email protected] → [email protected] inboxHow to Use It Step by Step
Choose a Tag
Pick something memorable: the service name, a date, a category like "shopping" or "news". The tag can contain letters, numbers, and hyphens.
Use It When Signing Up
Enter [email protected] in any signup form. Verification emails will arrive instantly in your inbox.
Create a Gmail Filter
In Gmail, go to Settings → Filters → Create new filter. Set "To" as your full plus address. Apply a label or skip the inbox automatically.
When Sites Block the Plus Sign
Some websites use email validation that incorrectly rejects the + character, even though it is RFC-compliant. In these cases, use a dot-trick variation instead — it looks like a regular email and works on all sites.
Popular Use Cases
- Shopping:
[email protected],[email protected]— all receipts go to one label - News subscriptions:
[email protected]— unsubscribe by filtering and deleting - Free trials: Create a new variation for each trial to keep them separate
- Data breach tracking: If spam arrives at
[email protected]from other senders, the site leaked your data
Try the Free Gmail Alias Generator
Generate up to 5,000 dot variations and plus tags instantly in your browser with zero data stored.