These 5 Email Apps Let You Create Extra Addresses for Privacy (2024)

If you'd love to sign up for that newsletter or blog but would rather keep your personal email address safe from spam and potential security risks, you're not alone. Many websites want to collect our email addresses, and we never quite know where that information might end up.

Luckily, several email apps now allow you to create "disposable" or "throwaway" addresses, also called "hide-my-email aliases," with which you can sign up for things. These extra addresses then act as a shield, forwarding messages to your main inbox while keeping your real address hidden.

1 Yahoo Mail

Yahoo Mail has been around since the early days of the internet, and it's kept up with the times by offering disposable email addresses. You don't need a special or premium subscription to create extra addresses for privacy on Yahoo Mail. With a free plan, you can create up to three disposable addresses, while Yahoo Mail Plus allows you to generate up to 500.

To create temporary addresses in Yahoo Mail, you first need to set a nickname. You can only do this on a PC, though. Click the gear icon at the extreme right of the page to open the quick settings tab. Then, click More Settings > Mailboxes. Scroll down to Temporary email addresses, and Click Add.

Insert a nickname you would like to serve as a prefix for all your temporary email addresses. You'll be informed if it's unavailable and even offered alternatives. After you've confirmed your nickname, you'll need to add keywords to create your temporary email addresses.

You can add a display name and description for each address you create, but that is optional. Once you click Save, your temporary address will be displayed under the Add button, ready for you to dish out to websites.

When you compose a message, you can also select one of your temporary addresses as your sending address.

Yahoo's system is incredibly flexible. Each address can have its own filters, making it easy to organize incoming mail automatically.

2 iCloud Mail

iCloud Mail upholds Apple's commitment to user privacy with its Hide My Email feature, although it's only available to iCloud+ subscribers.

With iCloud+, you can create up to 500 email aliases, and the process seamlessly integrates into your Apple ecosystem. You can generate random addresses directly from any of your iOS or macOS devices under your iCloud settings, label them, and deactivate them as needed. Apple's Safari and several supported third-party apps will also suggest aliases when submitting forms online.

To create email aliases, head to your settings page (or Systems Preferences on your Mac) and navigate to iCloud. If you have a premium subscription, you'll find a dedicated section for iCloud+, where you'll find Hide My Email.

Tap Hide My Email and a new random address will be generated for you. If you don't like it for some reason, tap Use Different Address. When you're satisfied, hit Continue. You can label this address, add a note, or deactivate it at any time in iCloud settings.

If you're deep in the Apple ecosystem—using an iPhone, iPad, or Mac—iCloud Mail's Hide My Email is seamlessly integrated. You can create unlimited email aliases, each forwarding to your main iCloud inbox. What's more, Safari automatically recommends using Hide My Email when filling out forms online, composing a new email, or using supported third-party apps.

3 Proton Mail

Proton Mail is renowned for its high-level security and end-to-end encryption, and it extends this protection with email aliases. You don't need a special subscription to create extra addresses.

You can create up to ten aliases on a free plan, while Proton Unlimited subscribers enjoy unlimited aliases. You can generate your aliases via the Proton Mail Security Center on your PC or Proton Pass (an open-source password manager) on your mobile phone.

On your PC, launch Proton Mail and click the purple shield icon at the extreme right to open the Security center. There, you can Create an alias.

Proton will generate an email address for you. All you'll have to do is include a title, which will serve as the address prefix. You can also add a note and change the email address to which your messages will be forwarded.

This process is the same on Proton Pass. Once you launch your Proton Pass app on your mobile device, you'll find a Create a Hide-my-email alias button, which functions similarly to the Create an alias button on a desktop. Whenever you're about to sign up for a new account or subscribe to a newsletter, Proton Pass can automatically create a unique email alias.

Proton Mail is a great option if you prioritize security. Its robust encryption ensures that even the company cannot access your emails, adding an extra layer of privacy.

4 SimpleLogin

SimpleLogin offers a versatile solution that works with any email provider. It allows you to create custom or random aliases that forward messages to your existing email address.

While SimpleLogin sports a premium plan, you don't need it to create extra addresses. The free plan includes up to ten aliases, while Premium subscribers can create unlimited aliases.

First, register a SimpleLogin account. You should register with an email address (not a disposable or forwarding address) to which you want the emails you receive from your temporary addresses forwarded. You can add other email addresses later (in the Mailboxes tab), but require one to sign up.

Once you sign up and confirm your account, SimpleLogin will automatically create an email alias for you. Instead of your primary email address, SimpleLogin will send announcements, newsletters, etc., to this new address.

To create more aliases, navigate to the Aliases tab on your SimpleLogin dashboard. You can create a New Custom Alias or a completely Random Alias.

Random aliases are created automatically without any input from you. All you'd have to add is an alias description—if you so desire. On the other hand, custom aliases require you to add a prefix to any existing domains.

SimpleLogin is especially useful if you want to continue using your existing email provider while benefiting from the added privacy of disposable addresses. Whether you use Gmail, Outlook, or any other email provider, SimpleLogin can create aliases that forward to your main address.

An interesting twist is that SimpleLogin can also create and include reverse aliases in the forwarded mail, allowing you to reply from your alias without revealing your real address.

5 33Mail

33Mail takes a unique approach, letting you create aliases instantly, right at the moment of signup. This email app is a bit different from the others in that you have to set up a domain first, including selecting a nickname that will be included in all your extra addresses. So you'd have to choose one carefully, preferably without any personally identifiable information (PII).

First, you must sign up at 33Mail.com using the email address you'd like all your messages forwarded. Note that you can only add one email address on a free plan. After inserting an email address, select an appropriate nickname, which will double as your 33mail domain.

Then, confirm your account to begin creating and using your 33mail aliases.

To create an alias, just use it to sign up on any website you want. How? Just add any prefix before your 33mail domain. In my case, I added goodstuff before @scallywag.33mail.com and signed up.

The first email sent to goodstuff@scallywag.33mail.com activated it. Once an email is sent, navigate to the MANAGE ALIASES tab on your dashboard. There, you'll find your new disposable email and also be able to block or hide the alias, so you don't get messages anymore.

33Mail's system is brilliantly simple. Want to sign up for xyz.com without sharing your real email? Just enter xyz@yournickname.33mail.com in their form. The first time someone emails that address, 33Mail automatically creates it and forwards it to you.

Whether on a free or premium plan, you get unlimited aliases, although rate limits are in place. However, on a free plan, you can create as many as five aliases within 30 minutes. Premium also adds the ability to use your own domain, like xyz@yourdomain.com.

Email addresses are now more than just communication tools—they're keys to our online identities. When they fall into the wrong hands, the results can range from annoying spam to serious identity theft. With the extra email addresses—offered by the five apps above—you can control who gains access to your primary email address.