Use these 5 email alias services instead

That’s the only thing we’re told when it comes to online security Not to reuse our passwords. In reality, however, passwords are rarely alone and almost always combined with an email address – something that travels everywhere with plain text but rarely gets the same level of caution.

By giving out our personal email addresses, we are effectively giving away our digital ID, which can be used to track ourselves. Just like you shouldn’t reuse your passwords everywhere, your personal email shouldn’t be used on every platform you sign up for – especially if email addresses are more difficult to replace if they end up being leaked.

A good way to achieve this is to use email aliasesallows you to easily sign up for random online services without revealing your primary email address. These are some of the best email alias services you should be using.

SimpleLogin is one of the most popular email alias services out there, simply because of how feature-rich it is. Being a dedicated service, SimpleLogin allows you to connect your custom domain and create multiple aliases with it if you don’t want to use the default domain. One of its biggest advantages is that you can reply to incoming emails via an associated alias without exposing your real email address.

belonging to Proton, SimpleLogin automatically becomes a trusted service for your privacy and security. It also helps that it’s open source. Under the Proton umbrella, it seamlessly integrates with one of the best password managers, Proton Pass, to create a quick nickname during registration without the need to open a separate app.

SimpleLogin is a powerful user program, so if you’re looking for a free service to get started, you’ll be disappointed to learn that its free tier only supports ten aliases.

Addy offers one of the most generous free tiers that allow you to create unlimited default nicknames without paying a single penny. It comes with other limitations, such as not being able to respond to contact with your nickname and dealing with monthly bandwidth caps, but you can quickly get past those limitations with its cheap paid tier starting at just $1 per month. And it opens up more features like having multiple recipient emails and the option to add a custom domain.

Addy is among the better services to use if you’re just starting your privacy journey, especially since the free tier is enough to try it out first. While its interface isn’t as polished as other services, it’s open source, giving it a security blanket.

Privacy-focused web browser Firefox offers a number of built-in privacy features, including an email alias service. If you’re a Firefox user, you’ll find the Relay service baked right into the app, although you can use it in other desktop browsers as well. In the free tier, it offers up to 50 email aliases, though replying via those aliases requires a paid plan.

Because it connects to your web browser via a browser extension, it allows you to create custom email aliases right on the signup page, making it very easy to use. He uses a fairly simple @mozmail.com address, which is unlikely to set off any red flags on certain websites when signing up. But I still wish Firefox Relay had a more attractive free tier to attract lighter/beginner users.

If you use Apple hardware and subscribe to iCloud+, you already have access to a premium email alias service. Because it’s integrated directly into Apple’s operating systems, a Hide My Email button appears on the keyboard, allowing you to quickly create a random email and hide your primary iCloud email address. It works reliably well and has solid spam protection while allowing you to easily respond to emails from service providers and your contacts.

Its only downside is that it doesn’t have a free tier and requires an iCloud+ subscription and is owned by Apple. If you want to mask your primary address posted in Gmail, you’re out of luck. Some users may consider the lack of custom domains and limited management a serious drawback, especially for a paid service.

DuckDuckGo is another privacy-first web browser that offers an email forwarding service with an easy-to-remember @duck.com address. Sometimes you can use it if you need to forward your email to random apps or untrusted websites Free service from DuckDuckGo. You can create your own @duck.com address. This service allows you to create unlimited personal nicknames as needed and delete incoming emails from any hidden followers.

Being a browser service, it is integrated directly into the DuckDuckGo browser, but you can use an extension to use it in your other browsers as well. However, I’ve found that replying via an alias often reveals your primary address, so it’s better suited as a referral service than a full-featured alias platform.

Most alias services allow you to keep your existing email address and forward any incoming messages to your primary inbox. But if you’re open to switching your email provider to a premium offering, Fastmail gets you great built-in nickname capabilities. This is a completely paid service with no free tier, meaning all features are at your disposal. And the company maintains deep integration with 1Password for masked email, which is especially useful if you’re in that camp.