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Email Aliasing

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Email aliasing is a tool we should all be using to help control spam. In this article, I'll review some options for doing it. But first, what is it?

What is email aliasing?

Email aliasing is using a substitute email address instead of your normal one for specific purposes. For example, I just signed up for an AI service called Huggingface. I used huggingface@steveshank.com for my email address. When I subscribe to a newsletter, I often use nospam@steveshank.com. This way I can filter my newsletters away from my business or personal emails, and I don't give out my real email address. This same process can be used even if you don't have your own domain.

Advantages of aliasing

• You can filter your emails to specific folders.
• You can delete entire addresses or filter them to the trashcan, without affecting your real address.
• You aren't giving out your real address
• If that address pops up in spam, you might know who sold you out (or just sold you).
• You make it more difficult for data brokers to track you. For example, if a data broker gets a hold of huggingface@steveshank.com they'll never find another address to connect with it.

You have your own domain

If you have your own domain, be sure you turn on your catch-all option. Your host may have a different name for it, but essentially, it means that anything coming to your domain will be accepted. Then you can use many addresses and just filter them to send the emails to whichever folders you'd like.

Your own domain also makes it easy to set up alias accounts, so you can respond from that alias address.

You are using Gmail

Gmail has a built-in plus addressing function. Just add the + sign and any word after your regular name and before the @ sign. For example, YourGmailusername+OCSNewsletter@gmail.com or, yourgmailusername+ebay@gmail.com would separate your OCS newsletter or eBay activity from everything else.

This is unlimited, so it works well, but the issue is that plus addressing is well known, and your real email address is obvious. A script can be written to check the Gmail address and remove the plus and what followed it. Then they'd have your real Gmail address if they wanted to sell it.

You are using Xfinity

Xfinity allows up to 7 email accounts per primary billing record. So, though not really aliases, it does offer some help.

You are using Runbox

My email provider, Runbox, allows 2 GB of storage and 100 email aliases for $20/year with a micro account.
Or
for $35/year, 10 GB email storage, 5 domains, 100 email aliases.

They offer discounts for larger storage. I prefer paying directly to a professional email provider instead of companies like Google, who pay for the service with advertisements and selling my personal information. There is no free email. You pay for it somehow. The payments are either transparent, like Runbox, or hidden, like Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google.

DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo offers an email forwarding service that will protect you from trackers and reduce your spam. It removes multiple types of hidden email trackers and lets you create unlimited unique private email addresses on the fly. Email Protection works seamlessly in the background with your existing email account and inbox.

Another nice feature of DDG's system is that you can reply, and it will use the fake email address as your return address. Another noteworthy feature is an option at the top of each email allowing you to delete the address.

Further Reading

• An article I wrote last May about DuckDuckGo's email aliasing system. https://steveshank.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?aid=1187
• DuckDuckGo's own description of their service. https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/email-protection/what-is-duckduckgo-email-protection/