How to Protect Your Primary Email: 5 Services for Creating Aliases

Your primary email address is not just a communication tool—it’s a critical identifier online. When registering on websites, it’s often exposed in plain text, making it vulnerable to leaks and misuse. Using temporary email aliases helps avoid this issue: they mask your real address, protecting it from spam, phishing, and unwanted tracking.

One market leader is SimpleLogin, owned by Proton and integrated with their password manager Proton Pass. The service supports custom domains, allows replying through aliases, and is open-source. However, the free version is limited to ten aliases, which may be insufficient for active users.

Addy.io stands out with a generous free tier offering unlimited aliases. The paid version, at $1 per month, unlocks additional features like replying through aliases and connecting a custom domain. The service is beginner-friendly, though its interface is less intuitive than competitors'.

Firefox users can access Firefox Relay, built into the browser extension and allowing alias creation directly on registration pages. The free tier includes up to 50 addresses, but replying through aliases requires a paid subscription. The service is convenient for quick use but doesn’t support custom domains.

Apple device owners can use Hide My Email, integrated into iCloud+ and enabling alias creation directly from the keyboard. The service effectively blocks spam and supports replying through aliases, but it’s exclusive to iCloud+ users and doesn’t work with other email providers.