Stay Under the Radar: How to Send an Anonymous Email

How do you set up a secret, nameless email address that contains no obvious connection to you, without the hassle of setting up your own servers?

This goes beyond encryption. Anyone can do that with web-based email like Gmail by using a browser extension like Mailvelope(Opens in a new window). For desktop email clients, either GnuPG(Opens in a new window) (Privacy Guard) or EnigMail(Opens in a new window) is a must. Web-based ProtonMail promises end-to-end encryption with zero access to the data by the company behind it, plus it has apps for iOS and Android.

But those tools don’t necessarily hide who sent the message. Secure email services will. Here are the services you should use to create that truly nameless, unidentifiable email address.

Make Your Regular Email Anonymous

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You can set up a relatively anonymous Gmail account, provided you don’t give Google your real name, location, birthday, or anything else the search giant asks for when you sign up (and you best do that while surfing anonymously, naturally).

You will eventually have to provide Google some other identifying method of contact, such as a third-party email address or a phone number. You can use a burner or temporary phone number created with an app, or buy a pre-paid cell phone, and then fib thoroughly when asked for any personal info. (Just know that even the most “secure” burner has its limits when it comes to keeping you truly anonymous.)

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) strongly sugggests you use a different email provider from your personal account if you crave anonymity. That way, you’re less likely to get complacent and make a mistake.

Note that you also should use an email service that supports secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption. That’s the basic encryption used on a web connection to prevent casual snooping, like when you’re shopping at Amazon. You’ll know it’s encrypted when you see HTTPS in the URL (instead of just HTTP) and a lock symbol in the address or status bar.

Top Phone Burners

Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Outlook.com all support HTTPS. Google’s Chrome browser flags all non-HTTPS sites as insecure. The HTTPS Everywhere extension(Opens in a new window) for Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and Android also ensures that websites default to using the protocol. (It’s built into the Tor Browser.)

That’s great for web surfing, but neither HTTPS nor VPN services keep you hidden when emailing. Pseudonyms in email (like [email protected]) aren’t enough, either. Just one login without using an anonymous browsing tool like Tor means your real IP address is recorded. That’s enough for you to be found; just ask General Petraeus(Opens in a new window).

The point is, once you’ve gone this far, there’s no reason to go back. Utilize a truly anonymous web-based mail service. Here are some to try.

Anonymous Email Alias Generators

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Maybe you’re happy using your current email at Gmail.com, Outlook.com, or your own domain—you don’t want to switch providers to keep some anonymity. You can still get some using email aliases—an address you generate on the fly to hand out, but that still works because any message sent to it is forwarded to your main inbox. Here are a few of the best alias generators.

Abine Blur(Opens in a new window)

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For $39 per year, Blur provides a service unlike anything else. This browser add-on is a password manager that lets you go about your online business without revealing anything about yourself. While almost every site/service online needs your email address to function—most use it as a username—Blur lets you create an unlimited number of anonymous, masked email aliases (and one anonymous phone number and masked credit card). Use them anywhere and everywhere. All the messages sent to the aliases will funnel to your regular email address(es). The only company in the know about who you are, really, is Abine.

SimpleLogin(Opens in a new window)

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SimpleLogin will create email aliases for you on the fly. You can only get 15 of them to send to one actual email if you use the free version; if you pay ($30 per year), then you have unlimited aliases sending to unlimited mailboxes, and can even create them offline.

Guerrilla Mail(Opens in a new window)

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Guerrilla Mail provides ephemeral messaging—disposable, temporary email you can send and receive—and it’s all free. Technically, the address you create will exist forever, even if you never use it again. Any messages received, accessible at guerrillamail.com(Opens in a new window), only last one hour. You get a totally scrambled email address that’s easily copied to the clipboard. You can attach a file if it’s less than 150MB in size, or use it to send someone your excess Bitcoin. There’s an option to use your own domain name as well, but that’s not really keeping you under the radar. Coupled with the Tor browser, Guerilla Mail makes you practically invisible.

TrashMail.com(Opens in a new window)

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TrashMail.com isn’t just a site, it’s also a browser extension for Google Chrome(Opens in a new window) and Firefox(Opens in a new window), so you don’t even have to visit the site. Create a new, disposable email from a number of domain options, and TrashMail.com will forward messages to your regular email address for the lifespan of the new TrashMail address, as determined by you. The only limit is how many forwards you get. To go unlimited, pay $20.99 a year for TrashMail Plus(Opens in a new window). The site provides a full address manager interface so create as many addresses as you like.

AnonAddy(Opens in a new window)

An open-source tool for creating unlimited email aliases, AnonAddy doesn’t store any messages. It lets you make as many as 20 shared domain aliases (like @johndoe.anonaddy.com), or an unlimited amount of standard aliases using “anonaddy.com” for the address. You get a lot more if you pay for the plans(Opens in a new window) that start at $1 per month, like support for your own custom domain name. It also offers extensions for Firefox, Chrome, Brave, and Vivaldi browsers.

MailDrop(Opens in a new window)

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To get a MailDrop address, you don’t need to sign up, create a password, or pay a dime. The messages it accepts are limited: text or HTML that’s less than 500KB in size; only 10 at a time; and messages are cleared our regularly. But it supports extra aliases using a period in the name, so [email protected] can be used at one site while [email protected] works on another, both using the same account. But it’s not that secure. Remember, you don’t even need a password, so neither does anyone else who wants to sign into your MailDrop. And all connections are logged.

Bulc Club(Opens in a new window)

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Bulc Club costs nothing, but you’ll have to sign up for an account to get all the features. You can get one new BulcBurnder address every 12 hours, and once you use it to have something sent to your mailbox, the alias gets deleted. You also can’t reply to any messages sent via Bulc Club. But it’s really more for preventing spam than it is communications.

Fully Private Email Services

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Aliases are convenient for those with existing emails, but if you’ve got real privacy needs, you should switch over to an entirely new email service—one that puts your privacy ahead of its data gathering. Here are a few we like.

Proton Mail(Opens in a new window)

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With servers in Switzerland (a country that appreciates secrecy), ProtonMail provides fully encrypted messages. Anyone can get a free account that holds 1GB of data and up to 150 messages per day. Or pay $3.99 per month to get Mail Plus with advanced features like 10 addresses across 15GB total storage, and support for custom domains and expiring messages that disappear after a set time period (which only works if you send to other Proton Mail users, or use password-protected encryption). It’s available on the web, plus via iOS and Android apps. It also offers paid users a tool called Proton Mail Bridge(Opens in a new window) to better integrate it with desktop email client software. Paid users can also use Proton VPN, Proton Drive, and Proton Calendar.

Anonymity comes via ProtonMail’s specific support for Tor via an onion site it set up at protonirockerxow.onion(Opens in a new window). It provides full instructions on how to set up Tor on your desktop or mobile phone. Having anonymous users is so important to ProtonMail, it doesn’t require any personal info when you sign up. It supports multi-factor authentication and doesn’t make logs of IP addresses used for access.

Tutanota(Opens in a new window)

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Germany-based Tutanota is so secure, it even encrypts subject lines and contacts. A forever-free plan for private use comes with 1GB of storage, but you can upgrade(Opens in a new window) to 10GB for 4 Euros per year to start, all the way up to 1TB for 60 Euros per month, depending on your needs. Premium features include aliases, inbox rules, support, more storage, custom domains, logos (on the high-end version), and more. There are apps for iOS and Android. Nonprofits and schools can get the business-oriented version as a donation.

Hushmail(Opens in a new window)

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Recommended by the EFF and others, Hushmail’s entire claim to fame is that it’s easy to use, doesn’t include advertising, and has built-in encryption between members.

To get all that, you have to pay. For personal use(Opens in a new window), it starts at $49.98 per year for 10GB of online storage; there’s a 60-day money-back guarantee. Access it on the web or iOS(Opens in a new window). Businesses can use Hushmail starting at $5.99 per user per month for small businesses and nonprofits and $9.99 for legal and HIPAA-compliant healthcare entities. There’s a one-time $9.99 setup fee for everyone.

Note that Hushmail has turned over records to the feds before(Opens in a new window). That was a decade and a half ago. But its terms of service state you can’t use it for “illegal activity,” so it’s not going to fight court orders on your behalf. At least it’s upfront about it.

PrivateMail(Opens in a new window)

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TorGuard is a global VPN service, which starts at $9.99 per month. The service provides a separate PrivateMail(Opens in a new window) service, which starts at $8.95 per month with 10GB of encrypted storage. All accounts get secure OpenPGP encryption of mail, no ads, and 24/7 help, plus a seven-day money-back guarantee. There are also Android and iOS apps for mobile users; all data is synced across devices. The anonymous par keeps your identity secret and also supports anonymous payments with cryptocurrency, some of which can be used to pay for your PrivateMail account.

Mailfence(Opens in a new window)

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Belgium-based Mailfence started as a collaboration suite for organizations in 1999, and it still offers a 500MB free plan to anyone who needs it, complete with encrypted email and multi-factor authentication logins. You can jump up to 5GB storage with 10 aliases for 2.50 Euros per month, or go Pro for 7.50 Euros and get 20GB, 50 aliases, and more—like full mobile and Exchange support. Businesses and nonprofits can get a customized interface.