Your email address is a lot like your phone number. You use it to sign up for everything you do on the internet, but in the same way you wouldn’t give a stranger your phone number, you also shouldn’t give just anyone your email address.
If you sign up for new subscriptions or newsletters frequently, chances are you have a fake email account, or at least one you don’t use for anything else besides email marketing. But what if you didn’t have to create a burner email address for all of those annoying emails?
With Proton, there’s no need for a fake email generator. Instead of juggling multiple fake email addresses, you can create an email alias, a variant of your personal email address, that directs incoming messages to your inbox without having to use a fake email account. It’s simpler and more manageable: No more fussing with fake email addresses, and you keep your personal inbox clear from spam and marketing clutter.
How is an email alias different from a fake email address?
Email aliases are different usernames you can create that are connected to the same email account. An email alias can be beneficial if you need to sign up for a new service or mailing list and want to keep your personal email address private. It’s also another way to keep your data secure.
When using an alias, email is forwarded from the alias to your main inbox, so you can prevent your personal information from being sold or leaked. Every time you sign up for a new service or newsletter with your personal email, you’re giving another company access to your personal details that data brokers can use and sell for profit. Using an email alias avoids that security risk altogether.
Why use an email alias instead of a fake email generator?
Using a fake email address to sign up for new products or services can start to feel like you’re juggling too many accounts at once. And if you use the same email every time you sign up for a new account, you might be providing third parties with more information than just your email address. A service you sign up for could be the victim of a cyber attack, leaving you vulnerable to fraud, or a company could be compiling information about your purchasing habits without your knowledge.
Using an email alias hides your real email address, so your information never gets sold to data brokers and winds up in the wrong hands. Prevent phishing attacks and spam by never having to disclose your real email address. You can also use filters alongside your aliases to help keep your inbox organized.
Create up to 10 hide-my-email aliases with Proton
When you sign up for Proton Mail, you can take advantage of the hide-my-email alias feature, for free. Create randomly generated email addresses that keep your Proton Mail address hidden from third parties, while still receiving emails directly in your main inbox. Instead of manually unsubscribing from emails, you can easily deactivate aliases if you start receiving too many emails or if your email is ever revealed in a data breach.
How do I use an email alias?
Using your Proton Mail account, log in to Proton Pass at pass.proton.me.
Install the Proton Pass extension and pin the extension to your browser.
Click the extension, select “Create item,” and then choose “Alias.”
Add a title for the alias you are making. For example, if you are subscribing to a new mailing list, the name could be “mailing lists.”
Click “Create alias.”
You can now use this email alias any time you sign up for a new mailing list and don’t want to use your personal email address, via the Proton Pass extension.
With the Proton Pass extension, you can also automatically use an alias when you’re signing up for a service by clicking the “hide-my-email alias” feature that pops up in the text field.
Once you’ve signed up for your selected service using your alias, Proton Pass saves your credentials so your login process is swift, easy, and secure — every time.
Keep your email address and more secure and private with Proton
You can create up to 10 hide-my-email aliases using your free Proton Mail account. Say goodbye to spam, unsubscribing from newsletters and marketing materials, and never worry about having to make a backup email account just for spam. Next time you have to enter your email address into a form, you can use an alias to keep your personal email out of the hands of data brokers and make sure your account is never disclosed to third parties.
Proton Pass is an end-to-end-encrypted password manager that you can use in tandem with your Proton Mail account. In addition to creating and storing passwords for all of your accounts across the web, you can also create email aliases that keep your personal Proton Mail account private.
Millions of people all around the world trust Proton with their data. Created by scientists and based in Switzerland, your data is protected by some of the world’s strongest and strictest privacy laws. At Proton, we believe privacy is a right, which is why we will never sell your data to third parties.
When you sign up for Proton Mail and Proton Pass, you’re equipping yourself with tools for a better internet, and ensuring that your data stays exactly how it belongs: private.
