What Is the Gmail Dot Trick?
Here's something most people don't know about Gmail: dots in your email address don't actually matter. Google ignores them completely. Your address [email protected] is identical to [email protected] and [email protected].
Every variation lands in your same inbox. But here's where it gets interesting—most websites and services treat these as completely different email addresses. That's the Gmail dot trick, and it opens up some genuinely useful possibilities.
How to Generate Your Email Variations
Using our generator takes seconds:
- Enter your Gmail address (without any existing dots in the username)
- Click generate to calculate all possible variations
- Copy individual variations or download the complete list
- Use different variations for different purposes
We calculate every mathematically possible dot placement. For most usernames, that's hundreds of unique addresses, all pointing to your single inbox.
Practical Uses for Email Variations
Track Where Your Email Gets Shared
Give each service a unique variation. When you start getting spam, you'll know exactly which company sold or leaked your data. If [email protected] starts receiving junk, you know Service A is the culprit.
Organize Your Inbox Automatically
Create Gmail filters based on which variation received the email. Use one variation for shopping sites, another for newsletters, another for work-related signups. Gmail's filter system recognizes the "To" address, letting you automatically label, archive, or sort incoming mail.
Test Email Functionality During Development
If you build software that sends emails, you need to test with multiple addresses. Instead of creating dozens of accounts, use variations of your existing Gmail. Each variation appears as a unique user in your system while all emails arrive in one place.
Sign Up for Free Trials
Some services offer multiple free trials per email address. While we encourage supporting services you find valuable, variations can help you properly evaluate a product before committing. Be respectful of service providers and their terms.
The Technical Explanation
When Gmail receives an incoming message, their servers strip all dots from the username portion before routing. This canonicalization happens at the server level, which is why:
- Your original address always works
- Any dot variation reaches you
- You can't register a new Gmail that differs only by dots
- Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) accounts behave identically
This isn't a bug or loophole. Google documented this behavior when Gmail launched in 2004. It was designed to prevent accidental misdelivery—people make typos, and dots are easy to misplace.
Setting Up Gmail Filters with Variations
Here's how to make the most of your variations with Gmail's built-in filtering:
- Open Gmail and click the gear icon, then 'See all settings'
- Go to the 'Filters and Blocked Addresses' tab
- Click 'Create a new filter'
- In the 'To' field, enter your specific dot variation
- Click 'Create filter' and choose your actions (label, archive, categorize)
- Click 'Create filter' to save
Now every email sent to that specific variation gets automatically organized. You might create filters for:
- Shopping receipts → Label: Purchases
- Newsletter signups → Label: Newsletters, Skip inbox
- Social media notifications → Label: Social, Mark as read
- Financial accounts → Label: Finance, Star it
Limitations You Should Know
The dot trick isn't foolproof. Some services have caught on:
- Smart detection: Some platforms normalize email addresses before storing, treating all dot variations as one
- Gmail-only: This doesn't work with Outlook, Yahoo, ProtonMail, or most other providers
- Limited characters: Shorter usernames mean fewer possible variations
- Terms of service: Abusing variations to circumvent service limits may violate terms
Why We Built This Generator
Calculating dot variations manually is tedious. For a 10-character username, you'd need to figure out 512 combinations. Our tool handles the math instantly and gives you a clean list ready to copy or download.
Like all our Mooflair tools, this runs entirely in your browser. We don't store your email address or the generated variations. Your data stays on your machine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Gmail ignore dots in email addresses?
Google designed Gmail to ignore periods (dots) in the username portion of email addresses. This was an intentional choice to prevent typos from causing delivery failures. Whether you type [email protected] or [email protected], Gmail treats them as identical addresses routing to the same inbox.
How many variations can I generate from one Gmail address?
The number of possible variations depends on your username length. For a username with n characters, you can place dots in n-1 positions, giving you 2^(n-1) unique variations. A 10-character username produces 512 different email variations, all delivering to your single inbox.
Do other email providers support the dot trick?
This behavior is specific to Gmail (and Google Workspace accounts). Other providers like Outlook, Yahoo, and ProtonMail treat dots as significant characters. An email sent to [email protected] won't reach [email protected]—they're considered different accounts.
Is using the Gmail dot trick against Google's terms of service?
No. The dot trick is a documented Gmail feature, not an exploit. Google acknowledges this behavior in their support documentation. You're simply using email addresses that Google has already assigned to you.
Can I use this to create multiple accounts on websites?
While technically possible, we recommend using this feature responsibly. Many websites recognize dot variations as the same email. Use it for legitimate purposes like tracking signup sources, organizing newsletters, or testing email functionality during development.