Spiff: Considerations for Using Gmail Email Aliases

As Spiff relies on email to identify your account, we have found that users can leverage Gmail's email alias feature to create additional user accounts in Spiff without requiring an additional email tied to an inbox. By adding a plus sign (+) followed by custom text to your Gmail address (e.g., yourname+spiff1@gmail.com, yourname+spiff2@gmail.com) you can generate distinct login credentials that Spiff treats as two different addresses, but routes to your same email inbox.

Email aliasing works for:

• Multi-instance access (Instance One + Instance Two)
• Multiple user records inside the same instance
  

Note: Email aliasing works only with Gmail-based email providers.

Users may need:

• Multiple Spiff accounts using the same root email
• Access to more than one Spiff instance

Many email systems cannot create multiple logins with the same address. Gmail aliasing solves this for users who would like to create two Spiff accounts that send notifications to the same email inbox.
Spiff requires each login email to be unique to ensure users are directed to the correct Spiff instance. Gmail supports “plus addressing,” which allows you to modify an email address by adding a tag after a + symbol. These modified addresses are treated as unique logins by Spiff but still route all emails into the same Gmail inbox.

When to Use Email Aliases in Spiff
Use a Gmail alias when a unique login is required.
You can use email aliasing for:

1. Dual-Instance Access

• Instance One: abc.123@gmail.com
• Instance Two: abc.123+inst2@gmail.com
• Additional Option:
  If a user cannot utilize an alias (or prefers not to), they may remove SSO on one of the instances and send a manual invite to the admin to create a separate login for the second instance.

1. Multiple Accounts in the Same Instance

• Example use cases:
  • One person acting as both Admin and User
• Example:
  • Primary Account: abc.123@gmail.com
  • Secondary Account (same instance): abc.123+qa@gmail.com
  • All emails deliver to abc.123@gmail.com.

Adding a User with a Gmail Alias

1. Go to Users in Spiff.
2. Select User.
3. Enter the alias email (e.g., abc.123+qa@gmail.com).
4. Send the invitation.
5. The invitation will appear in the main inbox (abc.123@gmail.com).
6. The user logs in using the alias email.