What is an email alias?
Definition
An email alias is an extra email address that delivers to your real inbox, so you can give out the alias instead of your main address. If it gets spammy or leaked, you can switch it off.
- Category
- Privacy
- Also called
- email aliases, alias email address, hide my email
- Last updated
An alias is a second name for the same mailbox. Mail sent to the alias lands in your normal inbox, and the sender never sees your main address. Two different things go by this name:
- Aliases you own. Gmail lets you send mail as another address you own, including a work or school alias, and lets you remove an alias you no longer want. Google's help page notes that recipients can sometimes still see your original address, for example in an out-of-office reply.
- Forwarding aliases. Apple's Hide My Email generates unique, random addresses that automatically forward to your personal inbox. Each address is unique to you, you can read and reply to emails sent to it, and your personal address stays private. When you use it with Sign in with Apple, only the app or site you created the account with can email you through it.
An example
You sign up for a store discount with a unique alias. The store gets breached and the address ends up on spam lists. You switch that alias off, and the spam stops without you changing your real email anywhere else.
Why it matters
Your main email address is the key to a lot of accounts, and it's a common link between breaches. A separate alias for each site stops it being matched across them, and shows you which company leaked or sold your address.
Alias vs. a separate account
An alias doesn't need its own login or inbox. A second account does, and that means more to maintain.
How to protect yourself
- 1
Use a new alias for each sign-up
If one starts getting spam, you know where it came from and you can turn it off.
- 2
Use your provider's built-in option
Apple's Hide My Email (with iCloud+ or Sign in with Apple) creates random forwarding addresses. Check your email provider for similar features.
- 3
Keep your main address for people and accounts that matter
Bank, government and work accounts should use an address that isn't handed out widely.
- 4
Check where your real address is already exposed
Serus monitors breach databases and the dark web and alerts you when your email appears, and finds where it is listed publicly.
See where your personal data is exposed
Serus finds it on data brokers and people-search sites and removes it.
Frequently asked
How do I create an email alias?
In Gmail, open Settings, then Accounts and import, then Add another email address. On Apple devices, use Hide My Email under iCloud settings (iCloud+) or choose it when you use Sign in with Apple.
Is an email alias private?
It hides your main address from the sender. Your provider can still see the mail, and some replies can reveal the original address, as Google notes.
What is the difference between an alias and a forwarding address?
An alias is another name for your mailbox. A forwarding address passes mail on to a different inbox. Apple's Hide My Email works like both.
Sources
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