Understanding Email Aliasing: Which Providers Support email+alias@provider.com?

This support article outlines which popular email providers do and don’t support plus addressing as of March 26, 2025.

Email aliasing, often referred to as "plus addressing" or "subaddressing," is a handy feature that lets you create variations of your email address by adding a "+" followed by a tag (e.g., email+alias@provider.com).

What Is Plus Addressing?

Plus addressing allows you to append a tag to your email address using a "+" sign before the "@" symbol. For example, if your email is jane@provider.com, you could use jane+shopping@provider.com for online purchases or jane+work@provider.com for professional correspondence. Emails sent to these aliases typically land in the same inbox, and you can use filters to organize them based on the tag. It’s a simple way to maintain privacy and control without creating multiple accounts—provided your email provider supports it.

Email Providers That Support Plus Addressing

1. Gmail (Google)

• Support: Yes
• Details: Gmail fully supports plus addressing. For example, emails sent to yourname+tag@gmail.com will arrive in the inbox of yourname@gmail.com. Gmail also ignores periods in the local part of the address (e.g., your.name@gmail.com is the same as yourname@gmail.com), offering additional flexibility. You can set up filters in Gmail to sort emails based on the plus tag.
• Use Case: Ideal for signing up to newsletters (yourname+news@gmail.com) or tracking which services sell your data.

• Support: Yes
• Details: Proton Mail supports plus addressing for all accounts, including free tiers. For instance, alice+shopping@proton.me delivers to alice@proton.me. You can’t send emails directly from a plus alias, but you can reply to messages received at that address using the same alias. Proton also offers additional aliasing options (like hide-my-email aliases) with paid plans.
• Use Case: Great for privacy-focused users who want to combine plus addressing with Proton’s encryption features.

• Support: Yes
• Details: Fastmail supports plus addressing out of the box. Emails to user+tag@fastmail.com go straight to user@fastmail.com. Fastmail also provides robust alias management features, including the ability to create distinct aliases beyond plus addressing, though these may require configuration in settings.
• Use Case: Perfect for users who want both plus addressing and advanced email management tools.

• Support: Yes
• Details: Yahoo Mail supports plus addressing, so user+tag@yahoo.com works seamlessly and delivers to user@yahoo.com. This feature is available across free and paid accounts, making it a reliable option for casual users.
• Use Case: Useful for organizing emails without extra cost or setup.

• Support: Yes
• Details: mail.com supports plus addressing, allowing tags like user+tag@mail.com to deliver to user@mail.com. This complements their feature of offering up to 10 distinct alias addresses with over 200 domain options.
• Use Case: Good for users who want flexibility with domains and plus tags.

Email Providers That DO NOT Support Plus Addressing

1. Outlook.com (Microsoft)

• Support: No
• Details: Outlook.com does not support ad-hoc plus addressing. Emails sent to user+tag@outlook.com will not automatically deliver to user@outlook.com. However, you can create up to 10 distinct aliases tied to your account via Microsoft’s settings (e.g., useralias@outlook.com), which share the same inbox. These require manual setup and don’t offer the spontaneity of plus addressing.
• Workaround: Use the alias creation feature in your Microsoft account settings for similar functionality.

• Support: No
• Details: iCloud Mail does not support plus addressing. Sending an email to user+tag@icloud.com will typically result in a bounce or failure to deliver. Instead, iCloud offers up to three aliases per account, which you can configure in settings, but these are fixed addresses rather than dynamic tags.
• Workaround: Set up one of the three available aliases for specific purposes.

• Support: No
• Details: AOL Mail does not support plus addressing. Emails sent to user+tag@aol.com won’t reach user@aol.com. AOL lacks native aliasing features beyond basic account management, making it less flexible in this regard.
• Workaround: Consider using a third-party aliasing service like SimpleLogin or Addy.io to forward emails to your AOL inbox.

• Support: No
• Details: Hotmail, now largely transitioned to Outlook.com, never supported plus addressing natively. Existing Hotmail addresses follow the same rules as Outlook.com—plus tags don’t work, but manual aliases can be added via Microsoft account settings.
• Workaround: Same as Outlook.com—create aliases manually.
•  

Providers with Mixed or Limited Support

1. Office 365 (Microsoft 365)

• Support: No (Ad-Hoc), Yes (Configured)
• Details: Office 365 doesn’t support spontaneous plus addressing like Gmail. Sending to user+tag@yourdomain.com won’t work unless explicitly configured as an alias by an admin. However, admins can set up aliases (up to 400 per mailbox) in the Microsoft 365 admin center, including plus-style addresses if desired.
• Use Case: Suitable for businesses with IT control, not individual users wanting quick tags.

• Support: Varies
• Details: Support for plus addressing depends on the mail server or email service tied to your custom domain. For example, if you use Gmail or Fastmail with your domain, plus addressing works. If you use a basic hosting provider’s mail server without explicit support, it likely won’t. Check your provider’s documentation or test it.
• Tip: Contact support or test with a sample email (e.g., you+test@yourdomain.com).

How to Test If Your Provider Supports Plus Addressing
If you’re unsure about your provider:

1. Send a test email to youraddress+test@yourdomain.com from another account.
2. Check if it arrives in your inbox.
3. If it bounces or doesn’t arrive, your provider likely doesn’t support it.

Alternatives If Your Provider Doesn’t Support Plus Addressing
If your email provider doesn’t offer plus addressing, consider:

• Manual Aliases: Use your provider’s alias creation tools (e.g., Outlook.com, iCloud).
• Third-Party Services: Services like SimpleLogin, Addy.io, or Firefox Relay can generate aliases that forward to your inbox, offering more flexibility than plus addressing alone.
• Switch Providers: Move to a provider like Gmail or Proton Mail that supports it natively.