Are Email Addresses Case Sensitive?

Are email addresses case sensitive? In some cases, maybe Yes or maybe a No!

There are scenarios where yes email addresses are case sensitive and in some scenarios case insensitive. Now, you might think about how is it possible!

Yes! It is. Let’s understand how and why?

Are Email Addresses Case Sensitive?

An email address is a combination of a username and the domain name (from which the account is created). The ‘@’ sign separates username and domain names from each other. For example – username@domain.com.

Where the part before ‘@’ is the username and the part after ‘@’ is the domain name.

Both sides may contain uppercase and lowercase letters. Besides, they also contain periods, special characters, and underscores.

#1 Scenario | Email Addresses Case Insensitive

Now, let’s assume a probability of a person typing an email address incorrectly. He may make lowercase letters uppercase or include a period in between the username.

For example:

Johnwick@gmail.com is incorrectly typed as John.Wick@gmail.com. The question here is will it be considered as case sensitive by Google server or not. The quick answer here is No!

Google email addresses ignore the letter case and periods. This is a scenario where email addresses are case insensitive. In this case, the message will likely be delivered to the correct email address – ‘Johnwick@gmail.com‘

#2 Scenario | Email Addresses Case Sensitive

In the case of Gmail, Johnwick@gmail.com is considered the same as John.Wick@gmail.com. But in the case of Yahoo or other domain names, they may not be considered the same.

For example, Johnwick@yahoo.com is not the same as John.Wick@yahoo.com. So, if a person types a wrong username in an email address, the message will unlikely not be delivered.

This is because in some scenarios email addresses are case sensitive.

Understanding Username & Domain Name in an Email Address

The username in an email address is case sensitive (except Google). Example@domain.com is not the same as example@domain.com. However, this is not the same in the case of Google email addresses.

Besides, a domain name in an email address is case insensitive which means the case doesn’t matter here. Example@domain.com is considered the same as Example@DOMAIN.com.

Best Practices to avoid Email Errors

In order to avoid such types of errors its best to create a simple and understandable email address. An email address should be easily recognizable by ISP (Internet Service Providers) and recipients.

Here are some of the tips to create simple and understandable email addresses:

• Keep it simple: The simpler an email address the lesser chance of error to be made.
• Avoid Periods in Username: Try to avoid periods in the username as it will reduce the chances of making errors
• Proper use of Special Characters: Do not use special characters to make your email look cool and funny. Instead, use them properly so they may be understood easily.

Final Words

When entering an email address, it’s likely to create a mistake, so it is necessary to use the correct lower and upper case letters. Moreover, if next time the doubt comes to anyone’s mind ‘Are Email Addresses Case Sensitive?’ You have the answer. You know the syntax and each case where the receiver is likely to receive the message or not. This will help you to know if you are able to receive or send an email concerning case sensitivity.

If you have any other related queries, please let us know in the comment box below.