How to Configure Email Aliases for Privacy and Productivity

Why Use Email Aliases

An email alias is a forwarding address that routes messages to your primary inbox without revealing your main email address. If you use a single email address for online shopping, social media, newsletters, and professional communication, a data breach at one service exposes your address to spam and phishing. Email aliases compartmentalise your digital identity so you can identify the source of a breach and disable the alias without changing your primary address.

The average person has more than 130 online accounts. Using a unique alias for each service means that a breach at one service does not compromise your identity across all other accounts.

Step 1: Set Up Aliases in Gmail

Gmail supports email aliases natively through Gmail's multiple inbox feature. To create an alias:

1. Open Gmail and click the gear icon, then "See all settings."
2. Go to the "Accounts and Import" tab.
3. Under "Send mail as," click "Add another email address."
4. Enter the alias address you want to use, such as yourname+shopping@gmail.com or a custom domain address.
5. Enter your primary Gmail address as the reply-to address.

Gmail automatically recognises the + addressing convention. Any email sent to yourname+shopping@gmail.com arrives in your primary inbox. You can filter these emails into labels automatically. This method works for free Gmail accounts without requiring Google Workspace.

Step 2: Use a Dedicated Alias Service

Services such as SimpleLogin (now part of Proton) and AnonAddy provide dedicated alias management with more features than Gmail's native support. These services generate random aliases such as abc123@simplelogin.com that forward to your real email address. If an alias starts receiving spam, you can disable it without affecting your primary address.

Proton Mail includes SimpleLogin alias functionality for paying customers. Fastmail also offers built-in alias support through its "Masked Email" feature. Masked emails generate random addresses on demand when you sign up for a new service.

To set up SimpleLogin with Proton Mail:

1. Log in to your Proton Mail account
2. Go to Settings, then "All settings," then "Aliases"
3. Click "Create alias" and choose a domain
4. Set up filters in Proton Mail to label incoming messages by alias

Step 3: Create Aliases by Category

Organise your aliases by the type of service they are used for. A practical system uses:

• Shopping alias: shopping@yourdomain.com for online purchases
• Social media alias: social@yourdomain.com for Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
• Newsletter alias: newsletters@yourdomain.com for mailing lists
• Professional alias: work@yourdomain.com for client communication and job applications
• Financial alias: finance@yourdomain.com for banks and superannuation funds

If a shopping alias starts receiving spam, you know which service leaked your address. Disable the alias and create a new one. Your primary address and all other aliases remain unaffected.

Step 4: Set Up Filters and Labels

Once your aliases are active, create filters in your email client to sort messages automatically:

• In Gmail, create a filter for each alias that applies a label and archives the message
• In Fastmail, create rules that move messages to specific folders based on the recipient address
• In Proton Mail, create filters that apply categories and mark messages as read or starred

Automated filtering reduces inbox clutter and makes it easy to find messages from specific categories when you need them.

Step 5: Monitor and Rotate Aliases

Review your alias usage monthly. Delete aliases that are no longer needed. If an alias starts receiving spam or phishing attempts, disable it immediately and create a replacement. Some services, including SimpleLogin, allow you to set up catch-all aliases that accept any address at a domain. This is useful for one-time sign-ups where you do not want to create a new alias each time.

Use aliases for all new online accounts. Never use your primary email address for services that you do not trust to protect your data. For high-security accounts such as banking and healthcare, use a dedicated alias that you never use elsewhere and monitor it closely for unusual activity.