How to hide your email when signing up for websites
Four ways to sign up without giving sites your real email address, what each one costs you, and why aliases are the one that lasts.
Your email address is the one thing almost every site asks for, and the one that ends up in leaks, spam lists and ad trackers. Here are four ways to keep it to yourself.
Why it’s worth it
Sites get breached, sell lists and share data with advertisers. Because you use the same address everywhere, it links your accounts together and keeps attracting spam long after you stop using a service.
Four ways, and what each costs you
1. Plus addresses
you+shop@gmail.com
Good: free with many mail providers, and nothing to set up.
Catch: sites still see your real address and can simply cut off the "+shop" part. Some forms reject the "+" altogether.
2. A second inbox
you.signups@mail.com
Good: keeps sign-ups out of your main inbox.
Catch: every site gets the same address, so one leak exposes all of them, and you can’t tell which site it was.
3. Temporary email
x7q2k@temp-inbox.example
Good: fine for a one-off download.
Catch: the inbox disappears, so you can’t reset a password later. Many sites block these addresses.
4. Email aliases
shop.k3x9m2pa@delitesco.net
Good: a separate address per site that forwards to your inbox. Turn one off without touching the rest, and reply without showing your real address.
Catch: it needs an alias service, such as delitesco, SimpleLogin, addy.io, Firefox Relay or Apple’s Hide My Email.
Doing it with delitesco
- Create an account. You get a random number, not a login tied to your email.
- Add the inbox where mail should arrive.
- Sign up with an alias. The browser extension fills one in right in the email field, and Bitwarden can make one when you save a new login.
- If an alias ever gets spam, switch it off. The rest keep working.
Comparing services? See delitesco vs SimpleLogin and delitesco vs addy.io.