2 ms·

Spam is one thing, but the amount of email I receive that's intended for other people is very worrying. I think it has to do with gmail ignoring periods in the

Spam is one thing, but the amount of email I receive that's intended for other people is very worrying. I think it has to do with gmail ignoring periods in the username. It's definitely not spam or phishing either, it's really genuine emails that have either been sent to the wrong account or multiple accounts. I've received a draft divorce settlement of an apparently high-profile NY couple, police reports, US Sea Cadet itineraries, bills among other things. I worry about emails intended for me being sent/copied to other people. It's a definite GDPR violation at least.

morsch 5y ago
I'm confused, how is it a definite violation of GDPR and who do you think is doing the violating? How would the handling of periods be relevant? Why wouldn't it just be user error? People send emails to the wrong address all the time. They'll keep doing it, unless you tell them, which you may or may not want to, because they might be embarrased or angry. Here's Google's relevant support page: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10313 https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10313
- secondcoming 5y ago
  I'm in the EU and it's GDPR violation to send someone else's personal info to a third party without permission. Regarding the usernames, for example gmail seems to treat 'firstname.lastname@gmail.com' as being the same as 'firstnamelastname@gmail.com' Further than that I don't know. All I do know is that I occasionally get legitimate emails intended for other people, and I suspect others may be getting mine.
  - drc500free 5y ago
    Yes, gmail treats those the same. Which means there is no valid email address belonging to someone else that is the same as yours other than periods. People are just mistyping email addresses, it happens all the time.
Tagbert 5y ago
Yes, I get mail all the time for people with similar name Who register for services using my email address. I’m sure that they want dinner of those accounts but it is lost to carelessness

morsch 5y ago

I'm confused, how is it a definite violation of GDPR and who do you think is doing the violating? How would the handling of periods be relevant? Why wouldn't it just be user error? People send emails to the wrong address all the time. They'll keep doing it, unless you tell them, which you may or may not want to, because they might be embarrased or angry. Here's Google's relevant support page: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10313 https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10313

secondcoming 5y ago
I'm in the EU and it's GDPR violation to send someone else's personal info to a third party without permission. Regarding the usernames, for example gmail seems to treat 'firstname.lastname@gmail.com' as being the same as 'firstnamelastname@gmail.com' Further than that I don't know. All I do know is that I occasionally get legitimate emails intended for other people, and I suspect others may be getting mine.
- drc500free 5y ago
  Yes, gmail treats those the same. Which means there is no valid email address belonging to someone else that is the same as yours other than periods. People are just mistyping email addresses, it happens all the time.

Tagbert 5y ago

Yes, I get mail all the time for people with similar name Who register for services using my email address. I’m sure that they want dinner of those accounts but it is lost to carelessness