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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

#91
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…

> I will never use their services again, I was really digusted by this failure Isn’t this inherent to not choosing an (EDIT: external) account-recovery method? The flip side to allowing account recovery at Google’s discretion is lessened security for everyone. (Obviously not black and white. And I agree Google should have flexibility for old accounts. But it’s an odd thing to reject a major provider over.)

You can have all the right details and recovery methods but if at some point they request you to provide the code they sent to the phone you don't have for the last 10 years......... That's it.

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

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is covered by GP's second suggestion. I add short random password-like strings to these aliases to thwart spammers who might be trying obvious aliases, turning e.g paypal@example.com into paypal.nsi873g@example.com

I probably didn’t explain myself well. On Gmail foo+bar@gmail.com is an “alias” for foo@gmail.com. So if you give someone foo+randomstring@gmail.com hoping that will help you map random string to that particular sender, you’re fucked - because anyone who sees foo+randomstring@gmail.com knows it’s an alias for foo@gmail.com, they can just email that directly and bypass your cleverness. If you’re using a sane alias pro…

[deleted]

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

#93
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They did have a method to recover their account that they tried, though - they said that they used the account recovery codes, but that they were rejected. (Those would be the codes that Google gives you when you initially set up 2FA.)

Sorry, I meant an external recovery method. Another e-mail address or a phone number.

Another email address is useless.

Another phone humber only works if you didn't lose that phone.

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

#96

Boss move that I learned under great difficulty: a new temporary gmail alias for every jobsearch.

As a hiring manager, I just want to give you a heads up that we are getting tons of fake applicants—like 5–10%—that end up being a real person on a video chat isn’t some AI assistant that uses a teleprompter interface to tell them what to say. Usually by that point you catch them, but your recruiter screen might not etc. So now all the main HR tools are using “age of email” as one possible signal to detect fraud. I’m…

How would you determine or estimate "age of email"? It isn't really public info. Does it imply that you are by now expected to be doxxed by data brokers to not be judged suspicious?

> I’m sure you’re fine if your email is real (in my experience they all resolve to Onvoy LLC instead of a real cell provider),

Email is expected to be resolving to "a real cell provider"? Wut?

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

#97
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…

> I will never use their services again, I was really digusted by this failure.

Without such measure anyone with your password could "reset" your 2FA.

The solution to "I may lose my 2FA" is not to make GMail a 1FA: it is to configure beforehand your GMail so that if your account is inactive for 6 months, access to your account is given to a person of your choice. It's so that a death spouse (for example) can eventually access the account.

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

#98
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.

Not only is it strange, it’s obviously very sexist in practice. In majority of the cases, it’s always the woman who changes her last name. The husband gets to keep his. I still find it very strange and shocking that powerful women with successful careers in modern society still keep changing their names after getting married.

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

#99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I will never use their services again, I was really digusted by this failure Isn’t this inherent to not choosing an (EDIT: external) account-recovery method? The flip side to allowing account recovery at Google’s discretion is lessened security for everyone. (Obviously not black and white. And I agree Google should have flexibility for old accounts. But it’s an odd thing to reject a major provider over.)

You can have all the right details and recovery methods but if at some point they request you to provide the code they sent to the phone you don't have for the last 10 years......... That's it.

> if at some point they request you to provide the code they sent to the phone you don't have for the last 10 years

AFAIK once 2FA is up, you can remove your phone number from GMail.

I know it takes time to set up a recovery account (in case the account is inactive for x months), to remove a phone number, etc. but if one's GMail is important it could be worth doing both now if it hasn't already been done.

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

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You're dealing with a different type of actor if that's necessary.
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