Changing the email i used in lots of places

[Dave Merrill]

Haven't fully decided yet but i may want to change the email i used on many sites and other accounts. Anybody have any thoughts on how to do that efficiently?

I seriously doubt there's any way to actually make those changes all over the place, but strategies for organizing and getting it done would be appreciated.

 

[unix-guy]

Other than keeping the old address and monitoring it for email, probably not much else unless you use a password manager which might help some...

 

[Dave Merrill]

I do use a pw manager, of course.

And you're right that updating it as i go would help know what still uses the address I'd be getting rid of.

Searching there for that account, i bet there are hundreds of entries. (It doesn't say how many were found.) Ugh. But i don't want to be stuck there forever, so

 

[strabes]

If you’re going to be changing the email on a ton of sites anyway and are already using a password manager, I highly recommend a service like addy.io. Basically it creates aliases that forward to your real email so you don’t have to give out your real email.

This way if a website starts spamming you or sells your data you can just turn off that alias and know exactly who sold your data. It also makes it harder to track you across the internet because you’re using different emails for every website.

I have “catch all” enabled so when signing up for a new website I just enter for example “newwebsitename@mydomain.addy.io” and the first time they send an email to that address the alias is automatically created so I rarely actually have to log into the addy.io page.

It also supports custom domains so you can use aliases like amazon@yourdomain.com for example. This also makes it easier when giving an email address verbally. I can make up any email on the spot and even if they type it in wrong, as long as they get the domain right it’s going to work.

Once you’ve changed the email on most websites to an alias, you can enable forwarding all your old email to for example: “changeemail@yourdomain.addy.io”, then in your new email set up a filter to label any messages from this email something like “Change Email.” This way you can automatically be reminded of any websites you may have forgotten to change and not have to check 2 email inboxes or give away your new email to your old email provider.

 

[Dave Merrill]

Dumb question.

I'm not a spy or a drug runner, how much do i care if Google sees the content of my emails?

They made the phone i use, the browser i use, the search i use, etc. They index most of the content i post on the web, for instance here.

Yes it's gross to see ads for things I've emailed about, but I've probably posted about them too, so it's all big stew of opportunistic "free" services.

Getting my knickers in a twist about that one aspect of it suddenly seems goofy. I should use the tools that work for me.

 

[Dave Merrill]

Dumb question.

I'm not a spy or a drug runner, how much do i care if Google sees the content of my emails?

They made the phone i use, the browser i use, the search i use, etc. They index most of the content i post on the web, for instance here.

Yes it's gross to see ads for things I've emailed about, but I've probably posted about them too, so it's all big stew of opportunistic "free" services.

Getting my knickers in a twist about that one aspect of it suddenly seems goofy. I should use the tools that work for me.

No comments?

 

[Dpoirier]

No comments?

I've been thinking along the same lines. My wife is a little paranoid about everything the "big evils" know and keep finding out about us, but my view is "the more the better". After a while (and we're long past that point) they have so much data that it's impractical for anyone to use... Other than algorithms, of course. And frankly, if an algorithm decides I need to see more ads for item-x because I happened to do a search for item-x (rather than more ads for item-y), so what? Ads are annoying, whether they're on target or not.

I am, however, deeply concerned about identity theft and financial abuse. And the timing is right since my credit card was recently fraudulently used by an outfit called zendenhome.com resulting in my card being cancelled and all of the annoyances that come with it.

 

[strabes]

No comments?