How to Create, Edit or Delete a Gmail Alias

Want to use more than one email address within the same Gmail account? You can do this (and more) thanks to the Gmail aliases. Here’s everything you need to know about this feature and how to use it.

Over the years, Gmail has implemented several game-changing features. Such as the Gmail folders or the “Schedule send” button. But our favorite tool – by far – is something called the “Gmail alias”.

What is an email alias?

An email alias is an alternate email address that you can add to your main Gmail account. The messages sent to your alias will then automatically land in your primary email account’s inbox.

So for example, if my main address is [email protected] and I create a Gmail alias such as [email protected], any message, attachment or image sent to [email protected] will land in my primary inbox.

What is the purpose of Gmail aliases?

You can use the Gmail alias feature to create multiple sub email addresses and associate them with your primary email address. This can be helpful in various situations such as ⤵️

• If you have multiple Gmail accounts and you’re struggling to keep up with your emails, you can add aliases to your primary email. That way, all your emails will be delivered to the same inbox and you won’t have to switch accounts.
• If you want to receive messages in your main inbox without revealing your primary email address, you can create a Gmail alias and use it to sign up for your competitors’ email campaigns.
• If you’re a small business owner and you don’t have a customer service department, you can set up an alternate email address such as [email protected] to sort your messages more easily.

How to create a Gmail alias

There are 3 ways to create an email alias in Gmail. You can set up a new alias from Google Workspace, add a secondary email address to your Gmail account or use the + sign to create variations of your primary Gmail address. Let’s walk you through each method.

How to create a Gmail alias with the + sign

The easiest way to add a Gmail alias is to use the “+” sign. This is a small Gmail trick that many people don’t know about.

Here’s how you can use it to create unlimited versions of your Gmail address. Simply add a plus sign (+) and a keyword before the @gmail part.

So for example, if your email address is [email protected], you could create email aliases such as ⤵️

• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]

And here’s the cool part. To Gmail, all these email addresses are the same. So any message sent to a “+” alias will land in your primary inbox.

This is a great way to keep your inbox well-organized and clutter-free. Especially if you know how to use the Gmail filters.

For example, you can use the [email protected] alias every time you subscribe to a newsletter.

Then you can create a filter that automatically sends all the emails sent to [email protected] to a folder called “Newsletters”.

But this method has its limits. You can’t send emails from a Gmail address with a “+” sign and they look a bit phony.

How to set up an email alias in Google Workspace

Another great way to create an alternate email address is to set up a new Gmail alias directly from Google Workspace.

Step 1: Go to your Google Admin console.

Step 2: Navigate to “Menu” > “Directory” > “Users”.

Step 3: Click on a user’s name to open their user settings page.

Step 4: Under the user’s name, click on “Add Alternate Emails”.

Step 5: Click on “Alternate email” and enter the name of your alias (i.e. the part of the email address before the “@”).

Step 6: To confirm your changes, click on “Save”.

And that’s it. You’ve successfully created a Google Workspace email alias. You can now send messages from this sub email address.

How to add an alternate email address to Gmail

Last but not least, you can also set up a Gmail alias by adding a secondary email address to your main account. Here’s how it works ⤵️

Step 1: Sign in to your primary Gmail account.

Step 2: Click on “Settings”. Then select “See all settings”.

Step 3: Navigate to the “Accounts and Import” tab.

Step 4: In the “Send email as” section, click on “Add another email address”.

Step 5: A new window will open. Enter the name of your secondary Gmail account (e.g. Edmond Alley) and the email address of the alias account (e.g. [email protected]).

Step 6: Make sure that the checkbox “Treat as an alias” is checked. Then click “Next” to start the verification process.

Almost there. For security reasons, Google will now send a message with a verification link to your alternate email address. Make sure to open the email and click on the link to finalize the process.

Need more help to add a secondary Gmail account? We’ve written a step-by-step guide to walk you through this process. Make sure to go check it out :)

How to edit a Gmail alias

If you want to change a Gmail alias, you can do so from the Google Admin console. Here’s how it works.

Step 1: Open your Google Admin console.

Step 2: Navigate to the “Users” section.

Step 3: Click on the username you want to edit the alias for.

Step 4: Go to “Alternate email addresses”.

Step 5: Click on the “Alternate email” field and modify the alias.

Step 6: Hit “Save”.

How to delete a Gmail alias

Want to remove a Gmail alias that you’re no longer using? Here’s how to do it from the Google Admin console.

Step 1: Sign in to your Google Admin console.

Step 2: From the homepage, go to “Users”.

Step 3: In the list, find the user you’re looking for and click on their name to open their account page.

Step 4: Click on “User information”. Then select “Alternate email addresses”.

Step 5: Press the “X” button right next to the alias you want to delete.

Step 6: Lastly, click on “Save”.

FAQ

This article was written by Corentin Brossault, Mailmeteor's CEO. Mailmeteor is a simple & privacy-focused emailing software for Gmail. Trusted by millions of users worldwide, it is often considered as the best Gmail mail merge to send mass personalized emails.