As a backend developer, What should you do with users' gmail accounts that contains dots?

Hi, If you have a gmail account, you can create multiple accounts using same email, just put dots between characters, But as a backend developer should you consider this case or not?

In the thread below i just pointed to this case.

Zeyad Etman

@zeyadetman

HackTip🔥: You can create multiple accounts on 99% of websites, using one gmail account, just put dots between characters.
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Same account on gmail, two different on ~99% of websites.

23:50 PM - 20 Oct 2019

Comments

[Ben Sinclair]

Treat them as separate email addresses, because they are separate email addresses. What one email provider chooses to do with them is theirs and the user's business.

[Jonathan H]

What Ben said. Trying to treat the situation differently will only create future problems and user confusion.

On a side note, you can also use the + trick with Gmail (e.g. [e-mail] and [e-mail] go to the same mailbox). Other places allow the same thing but with dashes instead.

There are a lot of varieties - it's best not to try to manage them without a VERY good reason.

[Dmitry Lukanin]

Some validation/sanitization libs support gmail addresses and can treat them as one address.

For example:

[e-mail] -> [e-mail]
[e-mail] -> [e-mail]

For reference: npmjs.com/package/validator

[Nathan Burgess]

You shouldn't do this for the simple fact that if a user has entered their email twice like this, then they're expecting them to behave like 2 separate addresses. It's just extra overhead on your platform.

[Eddie]

Wow. I've never thought of this. I have no solution but following to see what others say.