Does Your Inbox Need an Alias?

What Is an Email Alias?

Email aliases (also called disposable email addresses) are an essential tool for anyone looking to boost privacy, control spam, and manage their online life efficiently. This guide explains what email aliases are, why they’re useful, how to get one (for free) and features of my recommended email alias '.

The basic idea is simple: An email alias is a secondary email address that forwards messages to your real inbox. It allows you to interact online without revealing your primary address, offering privacy, flexibility, and a seamless way to deal with unwanted emails. Consider thewse benefits of an email alias:

• Privacy: Hide your main email from marketers, hackers, and data brokers


• Spam Control: If an alias gets spammed, you simply deactivate or delete it


• Security: Reduce your exposure to data breaches; leaks affect only aliases, not your real email


• Organization: Use unique aliases for shopping, newsletters, or social networks to monitor or block sources as needed


• Tracking: A unique alias can help you track down who is sharing your email address without your permission

How to Create Email Aliases with Gmail

Gmail is the most popular email service, with over 1.8 billion users worldwide, so let's start there.

Gmail supports two main alias strategies, the first being the "Plus Trick" or subaddressing. Just add '+keyword' before the '@' in your Gmail address (e.g., janedoe+shopping@gmail.com or johndoe+newsletter@gmail.com). Emails to these addresses will still go to your main inbox but will display the alias in the 'To' field. This is useful for tracking how your email is shared, and for filtering messages automatically. Using a Gmail filter and label, you can organize your incoming messages. (Gmail labels are essentially folders).

Another way to create email aliases with Gmail is the "Dots Trick". In Gmail, dots in the username are ignored. For example, johndoe@gmail.com, john.doe@gmail.com, and j.o.h.n.d.o.e@gmail.com are all the same, and messages sent to any dotted variation with end up in the johndoe@gmail.com inbox.

How to Create Email Aliases with Microsoft Outlook.com

Sign in to your Outlook account, then go to Settings (gear icon). Click on Mail, then Forwarding and IMAP. Click Manage or choose a primary alias. Select Add email. Enter your alias and click Add username.

The new alias will share the same inbox, contact list, and account settings as your primary account. When sending emails, you can choose which alias to send from via the "From" dropdown in the compose window.

How to Create Email Aliases with Yahoo Mail

To create an alias or disposable email address, go to your Yahoo Mail Settings (click "... More" then the gear icon, then More Settings). In the left sidebar, click 'Mailboxes' then click Add next to "Disposable email addresses". Each disposable email address includes the combination of a nickname and a keyword variation: for example, nickname-keyword@yahoo.com.

Enter your nickname, then press Next. Enter your keyword, and optionally a Name and Description. Click Save to finish. Disposable addresses in Yahoo are especially handy for short-term projects or to avoid long-term spam to your main mailbox.

Some Email Alias Providers You Can Try

If you don't use Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo (or even if you do), you can use one of these third-party services to create an email alias or disposable email address. Here’s a list of free popular third-party services, each offering unique privacy or user experience advantages.

SimpleLogin – Open-source, supports custom/catch-all domains, unlimited sends and bandwidth, robust encryption support, and browser/mobile apps

Proton Mail – Swiss-based, privacy-focused, integrates 'Hide-my-email' with full encryption, and available across all devices

Cloaked – Offers aliases not just for email but also for phone and credit card masking, ideal for comprehensive privacy.

Hide My Email (Apple) – Lets Apple ID users generate system-level aliases for sign-ups and logins via iOS/macOS.

Firefox Relay – Quick generation of basic aliases, tracker blocking, open-source, integrated with Firefox browser.

Tips for Using Email Aliases

Use unique aliases for every website that asks for an email address. This will help to identify privacy leaks quickly and manage subscriptions efficiently.

If a service requires verification, ensure replies will be routed correctly by testing the alias before fully switching over. Regularly review and prune unused aliases to maintain inbox organization and security.

Are you using email aliases or disposable email addresses? Tell me why, and what method you're using to protect your inbox from unwanted emails. Post your comment or question below.