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Google is 'gradually rolling out' option to change your gmail.com address

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Re: Google is 'gradually rolling out' option to change your gmail.com address

#61

Post by fragmede »

Dusseldorf wrote: post #40
raddan wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can take this to an extreme (like I do) and use a different email address for every party with whom you communicate. It makes it rather obvious who leaked your email address, and also easy to shut them out (looking at you ActBlue!). It also leads to some amusing personal interactions. I once rebooked a cancelled flight on JetBlue at the ticket counter. When the agent saw my email she said “wow, you must really li…

I do this as well, and occasionally people get confused and think I work for the company I'm interacting with (enterprise@myname.com is close enough to myname@enterprise.com, I guess.) I usually don't bother to correct them, in case it gets me better treatment :)

The problem is that's guessable. I add a nonce/salt/bit of random chars; enterprise_jeje38@example.com to compensate.

Re: Google is 'gradually rolling out' option to change your gmail.com address

#64

Post by bluedevil2k »

jaynate wrote: post #51

My gmail address is first.last@gmail.com. From time to time (and for years) I get someone else’s at firstlast@gmail.com. I thought that a Gmail account that was first.last@gmail also allowed for email sent to firstlast@gmail (no period) to reach my inbox as well. I’ve received some sensitive/PII content over the years. I’ve wondered if this person has access to any of my information? Not necessarily related to this p…

Handy tip for software testing - Gmail ignores everything after a “+” in the address. So when you’re testing different accounts in your software you can use +1@gmail.com, +2@gmail.com, +3@gmail.com etc. to create many different accounts in the software that all go to the same email address.

Re: Google is 'gradually rolling out' option to change your gmail.com address

#65

Post by DetectDefect »

brikym wrote: post #55

I really want unlimited aliases for signing up to sites and tracking who is leaking my data.

mailbox.org hooked up to Thunderbird allows you to do so using custom domains. You can send and receive email as any string @ your domain.

Re: Google is 'gradually rolling out' option to change your gmail.com address

#66

Post by DetectDefect »

firefax wrote: post #7

I wish they'd let me recover my original -- I lost my TOTP generator, and the codes I'd written down in a paper notebook were rejected. I even hunted down the electronic copy in case there was a transcription error -- seemed like some failure in their systems was causing me to lose access despite having followed proper procedures. Lost a decade and a half of correspondence dating back to my teenage years. I had impor…

Back up your seeds! Aegis for Android lets you do encrypted exports.

Re: Google is 'gradually rolling out' option to change your gmail.com address

#67

Post by dmurray »

lysace wrote: post #52
jaynate wrote: post #51

My gmail address is first.last@gmail.com. From time to time (and for years) I get someone else’s at firstlast@gmail.com. I thought that a Gmail account that was first.last@gmail also allowed for email sent to firstlast@gmail (no period) to reach my inbox as well. I’ve received some sensitive/PII content over the years. I’ve wondered if this person has access to any of my information? Not necessarily related to this p…

> I’ve wondered if this person has access to any of my information? No. They have just told someone your email address and that someone has sent you stuff. Anyone can do that, if they dream up your email address. People having the same name are a lot more likely to do that. Happened to me as well. I was the first one of the 50 people or so carrying my name to register "first[.]last@gmail.com" back in 2004. At least t…

Maybe their email is lastfirst@gmail.com, and people occasionally misremember your address and send your correspondence to them. In that case, yes.

More likely their email address is firstlastnumber@gmail.com or firstlast@otherprovider.com though, in which cases the types of mistakes people make are likely asymmetric.

Re: Google is 'gradually rolling out' option to change your gmail.com address

#68

Post by jibal »

jaynate wrote: post #51

My gmail address is first.last@gmail.com. From time to time (and for years) I get someone else’s at firstlast@gmail.com. I thought that a Gmail account that was first.last@gmail also allowed for email sent to firstlast@gmail (no period) to reach my inbox as well. I’ve received some sensitive/PII content over the years. I’ve wondered if this person has access to any of my information? Not necessarily related to this p…

> I thought that a Gmail account that was first.last@gmail also allowed for email sent to firstlast@gmail (no period) to reach my inbox as well.

Yes, and you've received email that was addressed like that ... so what's your issue?

> I’ve wondered if this person has access to any of my information?

Yes, because "this person" is you.

Re: Google is 'gradually rolling out' option to change your gmail.com address

#69

Post by Dries007 »

9dev wrote: post #50

Oh, finally. I’m one of the first.last@gmail folks, which I assumed would never change when I was 13 years old (hah!). Fast forward a few years, I got married, and am stuck with my old name in the address.

A bit off topic, but changing your name when getting married is so strange to me. It is not at all common where I live (Belgium), in fact I don't think I personally know a single person who did.

Re: Google is 'gradually rolling out' option to change your gmail.com address

#70

Post by jibal »

dmurray wrote: post #67
lysace wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I’ve wondered if this person has access to any of my information? No. They have just told someone your email address and that someone has sent you stuff. Anyone can do that, if they dream up your email address. People having the same name are a lot more likely to do that. Happened to me as well. I was the first one of the 50 people or so carrying my name to register "first[.]last@gmail.com" back in 2004. At least t…

Maybe their email is lastfirst@gmail.com, and people occasionally misremember your address and send your correspondence to them. In that case, yes. More likely their email address is firstlastnumber@gmail.com or firstlast@otherprovider.com though, in which cases the types of mistakes people make are likely asymmetric.

periods are ignored in gmail addresses so there's no difference between firstlast@gmail.com and first.last@gmail.com
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