A plus address is your normal address with + and a tag before the @. For a username of yourname, the address yourname+shopping followed by your usual domain delivers to your inbox, and so does any other tag. You do not set anything up first.
Use a different tag for each site you sign up to. If a tag starts to receive spam, you know which site passed it on.
Get an address#
- Open Settings > Plus Addressing.
- Under Your plus addresses, find a ready-made tag: shopping, newsletters, work, social, banking, travel or gaming. Hover over a row and select the copy icon to copy it.
- For another tag, type it under Generate a plus address and select Copy.
A tag can contain lowercase letters, numbers, dots, underscores and hyphens. Anything else is removed as you type.
Sort mail by tag#
- Select the filter icon beside an address, or Auto-filter emails to +tag for a custom tag.
- The Spam & Filters page opens with a rule filled in: the To address is matched and the action is Move to folder, named after the tag.
- Check that the folder exists, then select Create Rule.
See Labels and rules for the rest of the rule options and Folders for creating the folder.
Limits and caveats#
- Your real username is visible in a plus address. Anyone who sees it can remove the tag. To hide your address, use a masked email.
- Some websites reject addresses that contain
+. Use a masked email there. - There is no setting to switch a tag off. To stop mail to a tag, write a rule that matches the To address.