Tired of spam? Use this email trick to stay private and safe
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LOS ANGELES - We’re asked for our email addresses constantly — to sign up for newsletters, download apps, get discounts, or register for basic access. But using your real address could put your privacy at risk, open the door to spam, or expose your personal data in a breach.
Fortunately, there's a simple tech tip that can help: email masking. Also known as burner email addresses, these tools act as privacy shields for your inbox — and they're easier to use than you might think.
How does email masking work?
The backstory:
Email masking services provide a randomized or disguised email address that forwards incoming messages to your real inbox — without revealing your true email to the sender. If a masked address starts attracting spam, you can deactivate it without affecting your main account.
Services like DuckDuckGo Email Protection, Firefox Relay, SimpleLogin by Proton, FastMail, and Addy.io offer both free and premium masking tools. Apple’s Hide My Email feature is available for iCloud+ users directly within the Safari browser and Mail app.
Most of these services let you manage your burner emails through a dashboard where you can view, turn off, or delete individual aliases.
When should you use a burner email?
Why you should care:
Experts say masking is useful any time you're unsure how your email will be used — such as when joining an online community, signing up for a free offer, or registering on a lesser-known website.
It’s especially important when revealing your identity could be sensitive — for example, joining a medical support group or advocacy platform. If your email leaks in a breach, your participation could be exposed.
"Masking your email gives you control," Santiago Andrigo, product manager at Mozilla told the Associated Press. "If you start receiving unwanted messages, you can easily block any emails coming to that email mask."
Can you still reply through a masked address?
What you can do:
Some free services only allow you to receive messages — but experts recommend choosing one that also lets you reply through the masked address.
"Maybe you never reply to a newsletter and that’s fine," said Andy Yen, CEO of Proton. "But if you used your alias to buy something online and there’s an issue, the ability to reply becomes important."
FILE - A woman is sitting at a glass table at home, typing on a laptop and holding a smartphone in her right hand. (Photo by Helena Dolderer/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Masking can also prevent future headaches if your data is compromised. Changing a password is relatively easy — changing your primary email address across hundreds of accounts is not.
What are the risks of sharing your real email?
Big picture view:
Once your email is out there, it can be shared with marketers, sold to data brokers, or scooped up in a data breach. That leads to more spam, phishing attempts, and invasive tracking.
Using a password manager and strong passwords is smart — but as Yen points out, "the real pain point isn’t the password getting leaked, it’s the email getting leaked."
While some users try workarounds — like adding a "+" and phrase to Gmail addresses — that doesn’t offer true protection. Many websites strip out that modifier, revealing your actual email anyway.
What about privacy? Are masking services secure?
The other side:
Most reputable masking tools promise not to store or read the content of your emails. Still, experts advise checking the terms of service and privacy policies to make sure they’re transparent.
Firefox Relay, for example, says it doesn’t "read or store any of your messages," and Apple says it deletes messages from its relay servers "usually within seconds" after they’re delivered.
"We state very clearly we’re not keeping a copy of anything that passes through our servers," Yen said.
If you're using a lesser-known provider, look for those based in privacy-friendly jurisdictions and with clear accountability for how your data is handled.
The Source: This article is based on reporting by the Associated Press, with insights from experts at Proton, Mozilla, and other major providers of email masking tools. Quotes and data reflect AP interviews and official product documentation from services including Firefox Relay, Hide My Email, and SimpleLogin.