FYI LIB25 - 21 | How you can reclaim control of your email

How you can reclaim control of your email

Drowning in promotional emails? Setting up email aliases and masking can help you regain control of your inbox and protect your privacy. 

A few weeks ago, over a leisurely coffee break while working from home, my wife let out an exasperated sigh as she scrolled through her inbox. “I’ve signed up for every online offer under the sun… coupons, flash sales, newsletters. Now I’m drowning in junk,” she groaned. Every attempt to declutter, like unsubscribing or setting up an email rule, feels like playing whack-a-mole with marketers.

We’ve all been there. You sign up for a free trial from an online service or enter your email to download a catalogue from a brand’s website—sharing your primary email address feels harmless, a small price for convenience. What follows is a digital deluge. You’re inundated with promotional emails, unsolicited offers, and a growing trickle of all kinds of suspicious messages. The feeling of being constantly tracked begins to erode your sense of online autonomy.

An email address, once just a communication tool, now is a master key to our entire digital identity. And the seemingly innocuous act of sharing an email for convenience can quickly escalate into significant privacy and security risks. “A single email address is one of many parameters that can be used in attempts to profile people—this is not limited to services to use, as it is common for this information to be exchanged with third parties as well. And from a security perspective, once compromised they could be a gateway to taking over other accounts since email is also used as an additional factor for authentication,” explains Prateek Waghre, a technology policy researcher and former executive director of the Internet Freedom Foundation.

There are powerful yet simple solutions: the adoption of email aliases and masking to reclaim control and peace of mind.

BEHIND THE MASK

For transient online interactions, disposable email addresses designed for temporary, one-time use are ideal

An email alias acts as a stand-in or nickname for one’s real email address. When a message is sent to this alias, it is automatically forwarded to your primary inbox, but the sender never sees the actual email address. Email masking is a broader concept, encompassing any method used to hide the actual email address. Aliases are a primary and highly effective method to achieve this, but there are other techniques that include forwarding services or even obfuscation. Masked emails offer anonymity and are generated by third-party services, while aliases tend to focus on organisation and are often created directly within one’s existing email provider.

 MODUS OPERANDI

One of the most immediate advantages of using aliases is their ability to transform a chaotic inbox into an organised, manageable space.

You can create distinct aliases for various categories of incoming mail—for instance, one for online shopping, another for newsletters, and separate ones for work or personal contacts. This strategic categorisation allows for the implementation of inbox rules, which automatically sort emails from specific aliases into designated folders.

Beyond organisation, aliases act as a protective barrier, obscuring the real email address from spammers, mitigating the risk of phishing attempts, and safeguarding against data breaches. Even if a particular alias is compromised in a data breach, it can be easily disabled or deleted without affecting the main inbox. Additionally, most third-party email masking services offer two-way anonymized emailing: you receive the message via your alias, and when you hit “reply,” it goes back out through the same alias. Many online services and marketers employ sophisticated techniques to track user activity across different websites, building detailed profiles based on their email addresses. 

Some advanced services offer the capability to remove common email trackers embedded within forwarded emails. For transient online interactions, disposable email addresses are invaluable. Designed for temporary, one-time use, these are ideal for situations where a permanent connection is undesirable—quick signups, accessing free trials, or engaging with services that may not be entirely trusted.

THE HOW-TO

Adopting email aliases is surprisingly straightforward. For example, Gmail users can effortlessly create aliases by simply adding a plus

SIMPLELOGIN:

Open-source; allows users to receive emails through aliases and send replies from them

ADDY.IO:

Supports custom domains and offers browsers extensions with unlimited aliases within its free plan

FIREFOX RELAY:

Provides email masking, with a free tier offering 5 masks and a premium option for unlimited use

STARTMAIL AND FASTMAIL:

These secure email providers offer unlimited aliases and comprehensive email masking with strong privacy features including no ads or tracking

 DUCKDUCKGO:

The privacy-focused web browser DuckDuckGo also offers a free email forwarding service that removes hidden email trackers and lets you create unlimited unique private email addresses on the fly.

sign (+) followed by any word before the @ symbol in their existing Gmail address (e.g., yourname+shopping@gmail.com). All emails sent to these variations will still arrive in the primary inbox, but the unique “plus” address allows for easy filtering and organisation. This method is quick, requires no additional setup, and is an excellent first step for those new to aliases. For users with an iCloud+ subscription, Apple provides a robust Hide My Email feature that generates unique, random email addresses that automatically forward messages to the personal inbox.

PRO TIPS FOR A SAFER DIGITAL LIFE

The benefits of integrating email aliases into one’s digital routine extend far beyond mere convenience, acting as a robust digital shield against common online nuisances and threats.

Once you begin using email aliases, adopting a few smart habits can maximise their effectiveness and ensure a safer, more organised digital life. The most crucial practice is to create a new, distinct alias for every online service or platform one signs up for. This compartmentalises digital activity, significantly limiting the potential damage if a single service experiences a data breach. If one alias is compromised, the others remain secure, preventing a domino effect across various accounts.

When creating aliases, it is advisable to avoid incorporating personal identifiers such as one’s name, birthdate, or location. Instead, opt for generic or randomly generated usernames. This makes it much harder for data brokers or malicious actors to link the alias back to a real identity or your primary email.

Digital hygiene is an ongoing process, mind you. It is important to periodically monitor aliases for any unwanted emails or an increase in spam. If an alias begins receiving an unusual volume of unsolicited mail, it is a strong indicator that the associated service may have been compromised or sold data. In such cases, one can easily disable that specific alias and create a new one for the service.

The ability to easily trace the source of a leak by observing which alias is receiving spam also helps in making choices about any future engagement with the source.

 

Source | MINT | 2^nd July 2025

 

Regards!

 

 

Librarian                                                                                                                               

Rizvi Institute of Management