Alias Categories

Alias categories are colour-coded labels that organise your aliases, for example Shopping, Finance, Social, Work, Newsletters and Gaming. Each category has a colour and an icon, and each alias carries one category. Categories only change how your alias list looks. They never change how email forwards, and deleting a category never deletes its aliases.

This guide is about creating and managing those labels. It does not cover the list view itself. For grouping, sorting, and filtering, see Grouping Aliases and Sorting, Filtering and Searching.

Why categories help#

One alias per service keeps a leak in one place, but a long list of addresses turns into a wall of text. Categories give every alias a visual home, so you can pick out the one you need at a glance and narrow the list down to one part of your life.

• Shopping: aliases for online stores, delivery apps, and loyalty schemes.
• Finance: aliases for your bank, your card provider, and billing accounts.
• Social: aliases for social networks and community forums.
• Work: aliases for your employer, clients, and work tools.
• Newsletters: aliases for newsletters and reading lists you signed up for on purpose.
• Gaming: aliases for game accounts, launchers, and in-game purchases.

Use labels that fit your own life. The names above are starting points, not a fixed set. If two categories always end up holding the same kind of alias, fold them into one.

How do I create a category?#

You create a category from the Categories page by giving it a name, a colour, and an icon, then saving it.

1. Open Categories. Go to Aliases, then Categories.
2. Start a new category. Click New Category.
3. Name it. Choose a short, plain name you will recognise later, such as Shopping or Finance. Skip names that only make sense for one week.
4. Pick a colour and an icon. Choose a colour that stands out against your other categories, and an icon that fits the label. The colour is what you will notice first in the alias list.
5. Save it. The category is now ready to use on any alias.

Repeat the steps for every label you want. A small set of clear categories works better than a long list of near-duplicates.

How do I assign an alias to a category?#

You pick a category when you create an alias, or you edit an existing alias and change its category there.

For a new alias:

1. Create the alias as normal. See Setting up an email alias for the full steps.
2. Pick a category in the category selector in the alias form.
3. Save the alias. The category colour shows on the alias card.

For an existing alias:

1. Find the alias in your alias list.
2. Open its menu. Open the three-dot menu on the alias card and click Edit.
3. Change the category in the category selector, then save.

Tag the alias by who holds the address, not by what you last used it for. A shopping alias stays in Shopping even if you once used it to reset a password.

How do I use categories to find aliases faster?#

You use categories to narrow the alias list and to spot aliases by colour, while grouping controls how the list is laid out.

Once an alias has a category, you can:

• Filter the alias list to show only that category, for example only Finance aliases.
• Group the alias list by category so each category gets its own section.
• See the category colour on the alias card for quick visual identification.

Filtering and grouping are list view controls, so their full steps live in Grouping Aliases and Sorting, Filtering and Searching.

How do I edit or delete a category?#

You edit or delete a category from the Categories page, and neither action touches the aliases themselves.

To edit a category:

1. Open Categories. Go to Aliases, then Categories.
2. Find the category you want to change.
3. Rename it, or change its colour or icon, then save. Every alias tagged with that category picks up the new name and look at once.

To delete a category:

1. Open Categories. Go to Aliases, then Categories.
2. Delete the category you no longer need.
3. Check the aliases. Aliases that used that category become uncategorised. They keep working exactly as before. Reassign them to another category when you get a moment.

Deleting a category is safe, but it is not a way to tidy up aliases. If you want to stop mail to one address, pause or delete that alias instead.

How do I set a default category?#

You set one category as your default, and it is already filled in when you create a new alias.

Set your default to the category most of your new aliases belong to. You can still pick a different category for any single alias.

How do I check categories are working?#

You check categories by confirming the label, the colour, and the filter all agree.

1. Open your alias list and find an alias you tagged.
2. Check the colour. The alias card should show the colour and icon of its category.
3. Filter the list to that category and confirm the alias appears.
4. Filter to a different category and confirm the alias disappears.

What if a category is missing or wrong?#

These are the most common problems, and each one has a plain fix.

• An alias shows as uncategorised. Either it was never tagged, or its category was deleted. Open the alias, click Edit in the three-dot menu, and pick a category.
• A new category does not appear in the alias form. Check the Categories page first. If the category is not listed there, it was not saved. Create it again and confirm the save.
• The wrong colour shows on an alias card. The alias may be tagged with a different category than you expected. Open the alias, check its category, and change it if needed.
• A category name no longer fits. Rename it on the Categories page instead of deleting it. Renaming keeps every alias tagged, while deleting leaves them uncategorised.
• Mail still arrives after you deleted a category. That is expected. Categories never affect forwarding. If you want to stop mail to one address, pause or delete that alias.

Related guides#

• Grouping Aliases - group the alias list by category, domain, or status.
• Sorting, Filtering and Searching - narrow the alias list to the aliases you need.
• Setting up an email alias - create an alias and pick its category in the form.
• How to use email aliases - where one alias per service pays off first, from shopping to banking.