The Dot Mail Trick: How Gmail Recognizes Email Addresses

When using Gmail, you may have noticed that your friends and contacts often get confused with or forget the dot (.) in your email address. This common human error can lead to them typing your email address as 'yourname' instead of 'yourname'. But did you know that Gmail recognizes email accounts with and without dots as one?

According to Google, Gmail doesn't recognize dots as characters within usernames. This means you can add or remove the dots from a Gmail address without changing the actual destination address - they'll all go to your inbox, and only yours.

This is because Gmail does not consider dots as separate characters in an email address. For example, if your email address is 'yourname', your friends can also send emails to 'youurname' or 'yournam.e'. These addresses belong to the same person, and all of these email addresses will go to your original Gmail account.

However, you may receive a message sent to an address that looks like yours but has a different number or arrangement of periods. For instance, if someone sends an email to 'yourname', it might also arrive in your inbox because Gmail recognizes it as the same address.

So, why does Gmail allow this? The reason is simple: your contact people might get mistaken with the dot in your email address. To remove this common human error, Gmail allows you to use multiple email addresses with your single Gmail account.

In conclusion, if you're worried about someone else's mail being routed to your account, don't worry - both of these addresses are yours. You can add or remove dots from a Gmail address without changing the actual destination address, and all of these email addresses will go to your inbox.

References:

Google. (n.d.). How do I handle different forms of my email address? Retrieved from

Note that this article is written in a conversational tone and includes some minor adjustments for clarity and readability, while maintaining the original content and information provided by the prompt.

Dot mail trick