Email forwarding

Email forwarding sends a message received at one address onward to another address or destination. It can help someone read mail from several addresses in one place, but forwarding does not by itself create a mailbox at the original address.

What happens to a forwarded message?

For example, a provider can forward mail sent to info@example.com to Alex's separate mailbox. The receiving mail system then handles the forwarded copy. Depending on the provider, the original may also be kept, or the forward may be the only delivery. The service's settings determine which behavior applies.

Forwarding is also different from opening a message and manually forwarding it. Automatic forwarding is a mail-routing action; manual forwarding creates a new message that a person sends. During automatic forwarding, information about the message's sender and the checks used to verify it can affect whether the next service accepts it. Forwarding can therefore affect delivery and spam filtering.

Is forwarding the same as an alias?

Not always. An email alias is an alternate address within a provider's account system; forwarding describes sending a received message onward. A provider may implement an alias by internal routing or forwarding, so its interface may use these words differently. Check whether the original address has a separate mailbox, whether a copy remains, and whether sending from the address is supported.

Related terms

• Email alias — another address that may route to a mailbox
• Email mailbox — where a message may ultimately be received
• Email provider — supplies forwarding rules
• SPF — sender authentication that can be affected by forwarding