Email aliases: how they work, and how to set them up

Every day we are immersed in a digital world where many of our actions and data are tracked and can be used against us if they fall into the wrong hands. Every now and then we hear stories of major data breaches and face spam or fraud attempts. An email alias is a simple but effective tool that can help you in the fight for digital security, among other things.

What is an email alias?

An alias is a unique email address whose only function is to forward emails to your main mailbox. But only you know about it; to an outside observer, an alias is an independent mailbox. It gives users a number of new opportunities.

Aliases allow you to “dilute” your online presence. Instead of using the same address for subscribing to newsletters, registering on websites and in social networks, you can create different aliases for different purposes. For example, you can set up yourname@gmail.com and yourname+shopping@gmail.com as two separate email addresses that are in fact one and the same inbox — sales@company.com.This way, even if the data of one of your accounts leaks, the others will remain safe. Aside from that, using alias email addresses allows you to manage and track your emails. If one of your aliases starts receiving spam, you can easily identify where it came from and take action. Deleting or turning off the alias will not affect your main mailbox.

Finally, alias emails provide an extra layer of anonymity. They will prevent your real email address from matching your accounts on various online services and make it difficult to build your profile. It is a flexible way to control your digital footprint, making you the one in charge of your information.

How do email aliases work?

As mentioned earlier, an email alias forwards emails to your main inbox, while appearing as a separate entity to outsiders.

The real nuance lies in the fact that an email alias is not an actual inbox, but rather an alternative “route” that leads to your main inbox. The messages that drop into your assigned alias inbox are shipped directly to your real inbox, but you are the only one to know that, which comes handy when trying to keep your privacy.

Aliases are a useful tool: it is possible to receive, and even answer messages using your alias email. The alias can be deleted at any time, while your real email address remains hidden from services and becomes significantly harder to trace.

Email alias vs. new email account vs. temporary email

Let’s see what Aliases, Temporary mail and creating separate email accounts can do for you in terms of privacy and general control of your mailbox.

Benefits of using email aliases

Using email aliases can help you out in various situations and serve different purposes. Most common uses are related to privacy and security or for a better organisation of your existing correspondence. Let us list the benefits of using aliases below:

• Reducing the risk of phishing
  If you use different aliases for different services, it will be easier to identify suspicious emails. For example, if you receive an email purporting to be from your bank to an address you never gave them, this could be a sign of a phishing attempt.

• Protecting your primary email address
  When you register on various websites or subscribe to newsletters, you can use an alias. This reduces the chance of your primary email address falling into the hands of spammers.

• Easily tracing the source of a leak
  If one of your aliases starts receiving spam or other unwanted emails, you can quickly identify the source of the leak.

• Separating accounts
  By using different aliases for different services and apps, you can avoid a situation where a data leak on one website leads to compromised accounts on other websites.

• Simplifying email management
  Most email services allow you to manage aliases, making it easy to forward, filter, or delete emails that come to a specific alias.

How to create an email alias

Creating an email alias depends on the email service you use. Several popular email services offer the option of creating and using aliases. We will walk you through the basic steps for creating an alias below.

Gmail

There are actually more than one way of creating an email alias with Gmail. Keep in mind that your existing inbox and password will be used, no separate accounts will be created. It is also important to note that the methods below will only work with the @gmail.com domain.

• Plus-addressing
  The easiest way to use an alias with Google Mail is to add a + tag to your email address, for example: yourname+newsletters@gmail.com or yourname+shopping@gmail.com. No setup is required — it works immediately, and you can create unlimited variations. Messages arrive in your main inbox, and you can use tags based on your destination address to create filters and organize the inbox better.

To create a tag, go to Settings (gear icon) → See all settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses → Create a new filter

Please note that some websites do not accept the + sign in email addresses, in which case this method will not work.

• Adding dots to your address
  It is an extremely simple, but useful trick: just add one (or several) extra dots manually in your address when writing an email. Gmail ignores dots in the username, so messages sent to john.smith@gmail.com, j.o.h.n.smith@gmail.com, or johnsmith@gmail.com will all arrive in the same inbox.

Outlook

• Sign in to Outlook.com → Settings (gear icon)
• Account → Mail → Forwarding and IMAP → Email aliases → Manage or choose a primary alias
• Add email → Create a new email address and add it as a username or Add and existing email address as a Microsoft account username

Yahoo Mail

• Log in to your Yahoo Mail account
• Click the gear icon and open Settings → More settings
• Open the Mailboxes tab and click Add an alias
• Enter the desired name and address for the alias

Yahoo Mail accounts can create up to 3 temporary disposable email addresses, depending on your location.

iCloud: Hide My Email

This privacy feature is available with an iCloud+ subscription. It lets Apple generate a random email address ending in @icloud.com for you. Messages sent to this address are automatically forwarded to your primary inbox, while your real email address remains hidden from the website or service you are using.

To create a Hide My Email address on your iPhone or iPad:

• Settings → tap your name → iCloud → Hide My Email
• Create New Address and follow the app’s prompts.

Apple will generate an address that you can use when signing up for websites or apps. The feature is also available in Safari when you register for supported websites.
Hide My Email addresses are random and non-customisable, which makes them less predictable and helps keep your primary address private. You can deactivate or delete this address at any time.

Custom domain and catch-all

If you own a domain, many email hosting providers let you create addresses using it, for example shop@yourdomain.com or news@yourdomain.com. These addresses can deliver messages to one or several mailboxes, depending on your setup.

Some providers offer a catch-all feature in addition. Instead of creating each address individually, catch-all accepts messages sent to any address at your domain, including addresses that you have not explicitly created. This can be convenient when you want to use many unique addresses or avoid missing messages sent to a new address.

The main advantage is that you get full control over your domain’s email addresses and routing. However, catch-all can attract spam: messages sent to mistyped or invented addresses may also be delivered to your inbox. It is best to review your provider’s documentation for available options, limits, and security recommendations: here is Cloudflare’s documentation as an example.

Other mailing services

The approach may vary depending on the service. Usually there is an option to create an alias or additional email address in the account settings. Sometimes services provide this feature only for paid or premium accounts.

If you use any other email service or hosting for your email, you should refer to the official documentation or instructions of that provider for more precise guidelines on how to create an alias.

How to send email from an alias

To send messages from an alias in Gmail:

• Log in to your Gmail account
• Settings (gear icon) → See all settings → Accounts and import → Send email as → Add another email address
• Enter the desired name and address for the alias
• You may be prompted to verify the address before sending messages. Once it has been done, click the From field when composing a message and select the alias.

In Outlook, the alias must first be connected to your Microsoft account or mailbox. When writing a new message, click the From field and choose the alias from the available addresses. If it is not shown, select Other email address and enter it manually. The recipient will see the selected alias as the sender, while the message remains connected to the same account and inbox. Note that availability may depend on your account type and administrator settings.

How to organize your email inbox with email aliases

Separate personal and work emails

You can create an alias for your personal email address, keeping it apart from your work one. Thus, emails from friends or relatives will come to one address, and emails from colleagues or partners to another.

Subscriptions and newsletters

Create a separate alias for subscriptions to different resources, blogs, or online stores. If one of the mailings becomes a source of spam, you can easily identify it and disable the alias to get rid of the junk mail.

Registering on websites

Use aliases when registering on new platforms or forums. Even if some of these resources are compromised, your primary email address will remain safe.

Testing and temporary tasks

If you want to test a new service or register for an event for which you need an email address, but you don't want to receive any notifications in the future, an alias would be perfect.

Folders and labels

Most email services allow you to create folders or labels. Use this tool to automatically sort emails coming to different aliases. For example, all emails coming to a work-related alias can be automatically moved to the Work folder, emails from online stores to the Shopping folder, and so on.

Drawbacks of using email aliases

Email aliases have become a popular tool for those looking to protect their privacy and organize their inbox. However, like any other tool, aliases have their disadvantages. Let's take a look at the most significant of them.

• Risk of a mix-up
  Even with the most straightforward email services with cleanest and most user-friendly UIs, adding multiple aliases is inherently associated with increased complexity. There's always the risk of losing track of which alias was used for what purpose. This can make it difficult to log in to certain services if you happen to forget which specific alias was used.

• Spam still can reach you
  Spam itself won't disappear the moment you start using aliases. Yes, aliases help you identify the source of spam and reduce it (by disabling the alias), but they do not prevent you from receiving it.

• Difficulties in communication
  If you use aliases to communicate with people, not just for registrations and mailings, you will need to watch what alias you use to reply.

• Problems with automatic filters
  Some websites or email systems may recognize aliases as non-standard or suspicious addresses, blocking them during the registration or spamming emails coming from them.

• Limitations on providers’ side
  Aliases and forwarding services depend on the forwarding provider. If the service stops operating, suspends the alias, changes its plan limits, or has a forwarding failure, you may miss password resets, receipts, or important replies.

Temporary mail as an alternative to email aliases

Temporary mail can be a useful alternative to email aliases when you need an address for a short-term purpose, such as a one-time registration or download. Unlike aliases, temp mail addresses usually expire after a limited period of time and help keep your primary inbox and email address private.

Temporary mail gives you a separate, short-lived inbox that is not connected to your main email address. It helps protect your identity and reduce spam because messages sent to the temporary address disappear when the mailbox expires. Since these mailboxes usually contain no permanent password, personal data, or valuable messages, they offer limited value to potential attackers.

Temporary addresses are also convenient for one-time activities such as confirming a registration, downloading a file, or accessing online materials. You do not need to create a username, manage another long-term account, or remember a password — just use the address at need and let it expire afterward.