What is an Email Alias?

An email alias is an alternative email address that redirects messages to your main inbox without creating a separate account.
Example: if your main email is alex@company.com, you could have an alias like press@company.com or support@company.com, both arriving in your main mailbox.

✅ Advantage: You only manage one inbox but can communicate under multiple identities.

Why and When Should You Use an Alias?

• Organization: Use different aliases for different topics (ex: careers@, sales@, billing@) to easily categorize and prioritize emails.

• Privacy: Share an alias instead of your personal email to protect your identity.

• Testing: Use aliases when signing up for newsletters or services to track who is sharing your email.

• Temporary needs: For a specific project, event, or period without needing a full new email address.

How to Create an Email Alias

On Gmail

• Create variations with “+”:
  Gmail ignores anything after a "+" in your email address.
  Example: emails sent to yourname+project@gmail.com will still arrive in yourname@gmail.com.

• Use filters: Create rules to automatically label, archive, or sort emails sent to a specific alias.

• Set up a true alias:

  • Go to Settings > Accounts and Import > Send mail as.

  • Add a new email alias you own and choose whether to reply from the alias or the main account.

On Outlook

• Add an alias to your Microsoft account:

  • Go to account.microsoft.com > Your Info > Manage how you sign in to Microsoft.

  • Add a new alias there.

• Sending from an alias:
  When composing a message, click on From and select the alias address.

Risks and Limits of Email Aliases

• Not bulletproof for security: An alias can still be traced back to your main email by someone determined.

• Management overload: Too many aliases without good filters can create confusion instead of simplifying.

• Not all services support aliases: Some forms reject Gmail-style “+” addresses.

• Spam risk: Public aliases (like contact@) are easy targets for spam bots if exposed online.

Conclusion

Email aliases are a lightweight, powerful way to organize your communication, especially when combined with filters and labels.
Used properly, they save time, increase privacy, and help keep a professional image — without the headache of managing multiple inboxes.

🔵 Bonus: If you use Recapp, aliases can be auto-classified and tracked just like regular emails — no extra setup needed!

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