Don’t Get Tracked Online: How to Use Email Aliases to Protect Your Privacy

These days, it’s common for websites and apps to request your email address as a basic requirement for registration or access to content. However, not many people understand the potential risks associated with giving away this piece of personal data, which can result in a thorough profile being compiled about them. For the longest time, companies used tracking cookies to monitor online behavior. Nowadays, increased restrictions on such techniques have forced advertisers and data brokers to seek alternatives – such as using email addresses – to identify and track user activity. This blog post explains how using email aliases can help protect your privacy online.

Giving away your email address can reveal a lot more information than you may expect. By connecting an email to other personal information such as your first and last name, your workplace or educational institution, companies can gain a better understanding of your interests, habits and browsing behaviors. This data can be accessed by advertising firms to target you with ads that appeal to your preferences and will pique your interest.

In a recent New York Times article, the CEO of an advertising firm in Minneapolis is quoted saying, "I can take your email address and find data you may not have even realized you've given to a brand. The amount of data that is out there on us as consumers is literally shocking."

If you want to take steps to protect your privacy, one effective approach is to safeguard your primary email address by using email aliases.

What is an email alias?

Email aliases are alternative email addresses that are created to forward messages to your primary email address without revealing it. Email aliases act as a shield for your real email address, allowing you to sign up for services, register for coupons, or communicate with others without giving away your real address. When someone sends an email to your alias address, the email will be forwarded to your real email address, but the sender won’t know it. By using email aliases, you can maintain your privacy and limit the amount of data that companies can collect and link to your primary email address.

Why you should use email aliases

It's no secret that companies are increasingly using email addresses to monitor user activity across websites. By having an email alias, you can conceal your identity, making it more challenging for companies to track you. Plus, you can create a unique address for each website or service you sign up for, which helps to reduce spam in your inbox.

How to set up an email alias

1. Log into your StartMail account (if you don't have an account yet, you can sign up here).

2. Click on ‘Aliases’ in the top menu bar.

3. Choose to create either a burner or custom alias. If you choose a custom alias, you can create a unique address and decide how long you would like this alias to be active for. If you choose a burner alias, a system-generated address will be given to you that will be active for one hour only.

Once you’ve created an alias, it will appear in the designated section of your account. You can now use these alias addresses to register for services or websites and protect your main email address from spam and tracking. You can add notes to your custom aliases too, so you will never forget what you are using them for.

There are many benefits to using email aliases to keep your personal information safe and secure online.

The benefits of using email aliases

No more email tracking – creating a unique email address for each service can help you protect your real email address and hide it from sketchy sites.

Additionally, using an email alias can help you avoid spam and junk mail. It can also help you identify where your data has been leaked or sold, as you can expect to receive an increase in junk mail if your email address has been exposed in a data breach. By deleting the affected alias and creating a new one, you can protect yourself from spam and phishing emails.

Not only that, but aliases can be a helpful tool to organize your inbox. You can filter all emails that come through an alias directly into a custom folder to keep your inbox clean and organized.

Using email aliases is a great way to protect your privacy online, reduce spam and stop companies from tracking your activity across the web. At StartMail, we offer an unlimited number of aliases, which is a must-have for our privacy-conscious customers.

Sign up for our risk-free 7-day StartMail trial and see how email aliases can help you protect your online identity.