Summary
Gmail disregards dots in email addresses, treating addresses with and without dots as identical. This is officially documented by Google. While intended for user convenience, this behavior can lead to several issues. Users report receiving emails intended for others with similar (but dot-less) addresses, leading to privacy and security concerns. Someone might accidentally (or intentionally) sign up for services using a variation of another's address, leading to unwanted emails or even account access. Conversely, users can use dots for filtering emails. There are considerations for users switching email providers, as other providers might not ignore dots. There's also a suggestion of potential historical inconsistencies in Gmail's dot handling. This can cause issues for the email ecosystem as a whole as well as create edge cases for user security.
Key findings
- Dot Ignorance: Gmail treats email addresses with and without dots as the same.
- Accidental Sign-Ups: Gmail's dot-ignoring behavior can lead to accidental sign-ups using variations of other people's addresses.
- Privacy Concerns: Sensitive information can be misdirected due to Gmail's dot handling.
- Non-Standard Practice: Gmail's dot handling is not a standard email practice and may cause issues outside of gmail.
- Filtering technique: Dots can be used to create unique emails to help filter in Gmail
Key considerations
- Security Risks: Be aware of the potential for others to access your accounts through password resets sent to variations of your email address.
- Data Privacy: Understand that your email address might be inadvertently associated with services and communications intended for someone else.
- Filter Emails: Use the feature to put dots anywhere in the email address before the @ symbol to filter emails in Gmail
- Email Provider Migration: If switching from Gmail, be aware that other email providers may treat dots differently.
- Compatibility: Be aware that other systems may handle dots differently, potentially causing issues and edge cases.
What email marketers say
11 marketer opinions
Gmail ignores dots in email addresses, treating addresses with and without dots as the same. While this is intended for user convenience, it can lead to issues. Users have reported receiving emails intended for others with similar (but dot-less) addresses. This can create security and privacy concerns, as people might accidentally (or intentionally) use a variation of someone else's address to sign up for services, potentially leading to unwanted email or even account access. Conversely, users can use dots for filtering emails, signing up to different websites, and then using this as a filtering option. There are also considerations for users switching email providers, as other providers might not ignore dots, causing confusion and deliverability problems.
Key opinions
- Dot Ignorance: Gmail treats email addresses with and without dots as the same.
- Accidental Sign-Ups: Gmail's dot-ignoring behavior can lead to accidental sign-ups using variations of other people's addresses.
- Privacy Concerns: Sensitive information can be misdirected due to Gmail's dot handling.
- Filtering technique: Dots can be used to create unique emails to help filter in Gmail
Key considerations
- Security Risks: Be aware of the potential for others to access your accounts through password resets sent to variations of your email address.
- Data Privacy: Understand that your email address might be inadvertently associated with services and communications intended for someone else.
- Filter Emails: Use the feature to put dots anywhere in the email address before the @ symbol to filter emails in Gmail
- Email Provider Migration: If switching from Gmail, be aware that other email providers may treat dots differently.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks clarifies that he was able to log in to Gmail with his email ID without a dot using his password, and concludes that the other user probably provided the wrong email ID to an organization, which resulted in him receiving their emails.
28 Jul 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that Gmail ignores dots in email addresses and treats addresses with and without dots as the same. He suggests to rule out user error or input validation errors.
30 Dec 2024 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
2 expert opinions
The answers indicate that Gmail ignores periods in email addresses. It treats addresses with dots and without dots as identical. While generally consistent, there is a suggestion that there may have been historical inconsistencies in Gmail's handling. The primary consideration is that this behavior differs from some other systems, which can lead to compatibility issues and problems within the broader email ecosystem.
Key opinions
- Dot Ignorance: Gmail treats email addresses with dots as the same as those without.
- Potential Inconsistencies: There might have been periods where Gmail's handling of dots wasn't always consistent.
- Ecosystem Issues: The divergence from other systems can cause problems in the overall email ecosystem.
Key considerations
- Compatibility: Be aware that other systems may handle dots differently, potentially causing issues.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains how Gmail handles dots, stating that Gmail ignores periods in email addresses and treats them as the same address. This can be a problem, because other systems may treat them as different, which can cause issues for the email ecosystem as a whole.
22 Nov 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks suggests that there may have been a short period where something was screwy with Gmail's handling of dots in email addresses.
2 Nov 2024 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
3 technical articles
Google's official documentation confirms that Gmail disregards dots in email addresses, treating variations with and without dots as identical. This can lead to complications with email aliases and when users switch to providers that do recognize dots. Fastmail documentation highlights that this behavior is not standard across all email systems and can cause issues with validation and user understanding of their own email address.
Key findings
- Dot Irrelevance: Gmail ignores dots in email addresses.
- Alias Conflicts: Dot and dot-less addresses can be aliases, potentially causing issues.
- Non-Standard Practice: Gmail's dot handling is not a standard email practice.
- Validation Problems: Some websites don't properly validate emails with dots.
Key considerations
- Migration Issues: Switching from Gmail might create confusion and deliverability problems due to dot handling differences.
- Address Validation: Be mindful of websites and services that don't properly validate email addresses with dots.
- User Awareness: Ensure users understand that Gmail ignores dots, as this might not be obvious.
Technical article
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help details that you can add email aliases to a user so they can receive mail sent to another address. This could theoretically cause issues where a dot and dot-less email address are used as aliases for the same user.
4 Feb 2025 - Google Workspace Admin Help
Technical article
Documentation from Fastmail Help explains that Gmail's "dot convention" is not a standard email feature, and causes serious problems for users that switch to a different email provider. Some websites do not properly validate emails, and don't allow dots. Also, people may believe their email address is one thing, and it's actually something else.
31 Oct 2024 - Fastmail Help
