Short answer: An email alias is an extra email address that delivers to a mailbox you already have. You don't get a second inbox or a second password, and you can usually send from the alias too. Gmail, Outlook.com and iCloud Mail all support some form of it: plus addresses (you+shop@gmail.com), extra addresses on the same account, or random forwarding addresses such as Apple's Hide My Email. People use aliases to keep their main address private, to sort mail automatically, and to give a business addresses like sales@ that aren't tied to one person.
What is an email alias?
Think of an alias as a nickname for your mailbox. Mail sent to the alias arrives in the same inbox as mail sent to your main address. Google's definition for Workspace accounts is short: an alias is an alternate email address that forwards to the user's primary address, so the user can send and receive with another address.
The word gets used loosely, though, and covers four different things. They behave differently, so it helps to know which one you're setting up.
Alias vs plus address vs forwarding vs masked email
| Type | Example | How it works | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account alias | sales@yourcompany.com on your own mailbox | Extra address on the same account, set up by you or your admin | Business roles, a second name, a fresh address |
| Plus address | you+news@gmail.com | Anything after a + is ignored for delivery | Sorting mail and seeing who shared your address |
| Forwarding | Old address forwards to a new one | A separate mailbox sends copies of new mail elsewhere | Moving providers, combining accounts |
| Masked (relay) address | Random address from Hide My Email | A service gives you random addresses that forward to you | Keeping your real address private |
The main difference with forwarding is that a forwarding address is still its own account, with its own login and settings. An alias has no separate login at all.
Email aliases in Gmail, Outlook.com and iCloud
Gmail
A free Gmail account can't add a brand-new @gmail.com alias. What it does support:
- Plus addresses. Add + and any word before the @, as in you+shopping@gmail.com, and the mail still arrives in your inbox. Google suggests pairing each one with a filter.
- Dots. Gmail ignores dots in @gmail.com usernames, so your.name@gmail.com reaches the same inbox. This doesn't apply to work or school addresses.
- Send mail as. You can send from up to 99 other addresses you own (Settings > See all settings > Accounts and import > Send mail as). Note that Google says it will stop supporting Send as for third-party addresses such as @yahoo.com or @outlook.com from January 2027. Workspace aliases and other Gmail addresses you own aren't affected.
On Google Workspace (a business or school account), an admin can add up to 30 aliases per user at no extra cost, and plus addressing works there too. For more ways to create Gmail variations, see our Gmail generator guide.
Outlook.com
Microsoft lets you add another email address to your Microsoft account as an extra username, which Microsoft also calls an alias. It can be a new @outlook.com address or an address from another provider, and you can sign in with any of them. To add one:
- Sign in to your Microsoft account and open the page that manages how you sign in.
- Select Add email.
- Follow the instructions to create a new Outlook.com address or add an existing one.
On Microsoft 365 work accounts, plus addressing is turned on by default in Exchange Online, so you+project@yourcompany.com works the same way it does in Gmail.
iCloud Mail
Apple offers two options. On iCloud.com you can create up to nine @icloud.com aliases, each 3 to 20 characters long, and send and receive from them on any device with iCloud Mail turned on. You can turn an alias off or delete it whenever you like; mail sent to it then bounces back to the sender. If you have nine and delete one, Apple makes you wait 7 days before creating another.
The second option is Hide My Email, part of iCloud+. It creates unique, random addresses that forward to your inbox, and you can reply without revealing your real address.
Why use an email alias?
- Privacy. Give shops and newsletters an alias, not your main address. If one starts getting spam, you know where it leaked, and you can filter or turn off just that address.
- Organisation. Plus addresses and aliases make filters easy: everything sent to you+news can skip the inbox and get a label automatically.
- Business roles. Say you run a small cafe. Addresses like orders@, bookings@ and feedback@ can all land in your mailbox now and move to a new employee's mailbox later, without customers ever noticing.
Disadvantages of email aliases
Aliases aren't perfect. A few limits to keep in mind:
- Plus addresses and dots hide nothing. Your main address is right there in the alias, and a sender can strip the tag.
- Some sign-up forms reject addresses with a + in them, and some sites refuse known relay domains.
- Replies don't always go out from the alias. Unless you pick it in the From line of a new message, most apps send from your main address.
- Every alias shares the main account's storage, password and security. If the main account is compromised, so is every alias.
- Account aliases can be capped or restricted by your provider or admin, as the iCloud and Workspace limits above show.
Managing several addresses in one app
Disclosure: we make Canary Mail. Aliases are easy to set up and easy to lose track of, especially once you have more than one account. Canary Mail is an email app for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows and Android that brings Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Yahoo, Exchange and other IMAP accounts into one inbox. The free plan covers unlimited accounts on 2 devices with AI inbox sorting, and tracker blocking is on by default. More than 2 million people use it, and Apple has featured it on the App Store and the Mac App Store. Teams that share role addresses like support@ may be better served by our separate product, Shared Inbox by Canary (from $10 per user per month, 14-day trial).
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an email address and an alias?
An email address is tied to an account with its own login and mailbox. An alias is an extra address that points to an existing mailbox, so it has no separate login or storage. Mail to either ends up in the same inbox.
Can a regular Gmail account have an alias?
Not a new @gmail.com address. A free Gmail account can use plus addresses (you+tag@gmail.com) and dotted versions of its username, and it can send as other addresses you own through Send mail as. Real extra addresses on the same account are a Google Workspace feature.
Is an email alias the same as forwarding?
No. Forwarding sends copies of mail from one account to another, and each account keeps its own login. An alias is just another address for the same account. Masked services like Hide My Email combine the two ideas: random addresses with no login that forward to you.
Are email aliases safe to use?
Yes, and they can make you safer, because your main address is exposed less often. Just remember an alias shares the security of the main account, so protect that account with a strong password and two-step verification.
How many aliases can I have?
It depends on the provider. Google Workspace allows up to 30 per user, iCloud Mail up to nine @icloud.com aliases plus Hide My Email addresses on iCloud+, and plus addresses in Gmail and Exchange Online are effectively unlimited.
Sources
- Google Workspace Admin Help: Add or delete an alternate email address (email alias)
- Google: Send emails from a different address or alias
- Google Workspace: Create variations of your email address (plus sign)
- Google: Dots don't matter in Gmail addresses
- Google: Automatically forward Gmail messages to another account
- Microsoft: Add or remove an email alias in Outlook.com
- Microsoft Learn: Plus addressing in Exchange Online
- Apple: Add and manage email aliases for iCloud Mail on iCloud.com
- Apple: What you can do with iCloud+ and Hide My Email