Your email address has become one of your most valuable digital assets. It serves as your online identity, your login credential for countless services, and increasingly, a target for marketers, scammers, and data brokers. Understanding when and why to hide your real email address has become an essential skill for anyone navigating the modern internet.
The Hidden Cost of Sharing Your Email
Every time you enter your email address on a website, you take a risk. That address might be sold to third parties, exposed in a data breach, or added to countless marketing lists. The consequences range from annoying (endless promotional emails) to serious (targeted phishing attacks using information leaked alongside your address).
Data breaches have become alarmingly common. When a company’s database is compromised, your email address often appears alongside other personal information, making you vulnerable to credential stuffing attacks where hackers try the same password across multiple services.
How Email Forwarding Solves the Problem
Email forwarding services allow you to create disposable aliases that route messages to your real inbox without exposing your actual address. Think of them as middlemen: websites see only the alias, while you receive everything seamlessly at your primary address.
The key advantage is control. If an alias starts receiving spam, you can disable it instantly. If you suspect a company sold your information, you’ll know exactly which one did it based on which alias receives the unwanted messages.
Comparing Popular Solutions
Several services offer email forwarding with varying features and price points.
RedirMe provides a straightforward approach to anonymous email forwarding. Users can create disposable aliases quickly, with free aliases lasting 24 hours, making it ideal for one-time signups or situations where you need temporary email access without commitment.
SimpleLogin (now part of Proton) offers unlimited aliases with its premium plan, along with advanced features like PGP encryption and custom domain support. Its open-source nature appeals to privacy-conscious users who want transparency in how their data is handled.
Addy.io (formerly AnonAddy) takes a similar approach with generous free tiers, offering unlimited standard aliases even without payment. It supports custom domains and integrates well with password managers like Bitwarden.
Firefox Relay, backed by Mozilla, provides tight browser integration and the trust of a well-established privacy-focused organization. It works particularly well for Firefox users who want a seamless experience.
When to Use an Email Alias
Not every situation requires hiding your email address. Your bank, employer, and close contacts should probably have your real address. But for newsletters, one-time purchases, forum registrations, and any service where you’re uncertain about their data practices, an alias provides valuable protection.
Consider using aliases for online shopping (especially from unfamiliar retailers), free trials that require registration, social media accounts you want to keep separate from your professional identity, and any website that seems overly eager to collect personal information.
Taking Back Control
Protecting your email address is one of the simplest yet most effective steps you can take for online privacy. Whether you choose a quick solution like RedirMe for temporary needs or invest in a comprehensive service for long-term use, the important thing is making a conscious choice about who gets access to your real inbox.
The few seconds it takes to create an alias can save you hours of dealing with spam and potentially protect you from the consequences of future data breaches. In an era where personal information has become currency, keeping your email address private is an investment worth making.