Ways to create unique emails for sign ups (or, ways to limit spam on your email)
How or what type of emails do you use for signing up for accounts with web hosts/ SAAS providers/ service providers (online and offline) in general ?
Some of the ways I have come across and or used are:
- Create a domain with multiple email accounts, one ID per provider (e.g. [email protected], [email protected])
- Using alias with existing email address like gmail, zoho, domain, etc. (e.g. [email protected]) Also See the comment from @Groentjuh below.
- Use an email relay or forwarding service like ImprovMX or Altmail (or others, pick your favourite)
- Using a temporary or disposable email (pick your favourite)
- Using anti spam software (which one?? )
- Use a Faux email address (I call this the Duh! method - basically two accounts with same or different providers, one email is the 'front face' other is the real email that you use. Set up forward from the front face to the real email account)
As of this morning IST,
I finished the draft of a post this morning on a related topic, in which I list the above 6 options. The post ran to over 3,700 words, so will not bother you with a link right now. Maybe the finished version.
Then I saw this post by @Groentjuh int he offer thread
https://talk.lowendspirit.com/discussion/comment/55594/#Comment_55594
[email protected] will just go to [email protected]. It's a simple way to allow you to use "unique" emails for each sign-up. In case of gmail, it also ignores any dots. So [email protected] will also go to [email protected]. Alternative options are having an catch-all email account on their own domains or creating aliases for each service.
Since the two are quite related, I decided to post this discussion, with the below questions:
- Are there any other methods that you use?
- Which is your preferred system for masquerading or protecting real email(s) ?
- Which of the above 6 methods in your opinion are suitable for beginners intermediate/advanced?
Thanks !
Comments
For nonsense stuff, I use one nonsense Gmail account (that I log into once in a few months and delete everything).
Detailed info about providers whose services I've used:
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I have 3 mail address,
1. One for real life important emails, tax, bank etc.
2. Catch-all domain mail for Internet identity, that is, Elliot. I rarely use this name in real life anymore.
3. cheap domain (number .xyz) with catch-all for weird website (for example, Sisters ), another mask under the mask
Action and Reaction in history
I can see why
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The main reason is that this name is a little difficult to pronounce and rare, I do not want to have to repeat myself several times each time I introduce myself.
My name come from this little boy
Action and Reaction in history
I personally use a mix for 'real' services:
[email protected]
)If there are sites that ask for an email address for downloads (one that comes to mind is DaVinci Resolve), to sign you up for newsletters or whatever, I just use temporary email services with bogus information.
Website: thomassen.sh
Discord: Decicus#0001
It really depends on what I want to do:
I aim to mostly use options 1 and 4, but used option 3 before and still sometimes do.
Good points in this disc so far! I use Improvmx for relay, and a couple of domain emails for logins including here. Also use lastmx sometimes
Trying to limit number of email accounts used (20 plus at last count)
p.s: here is the post I wrote : :
(disclaimer: wall of text!) some images will appear broken but that is by design.
https://app.simplenote.com/publish/GFLd5Y
Or you can read the post on my blog with better formatting and images
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I use service @ customdomain aliasses as well. Since every service has it's unique alias, you can instantly identify the origin of spam and change the alias.
SimpleLogin (https://simplelogin.io/) is great for this.
Like others, I also use the plus addressing. That way I can filter objects out of my inbox into various sub-folders automagically on the server side.
Fastmail.
You can create up to 600 alias per account on any of their +100 public domains (Or using your custom domains).
They also support Plus addressing (+) and subdomain addressing.
For example, let's say I created this alias: [email protected], I could do [email protected] and/or [email protected].
So basically you'll have unlimited aliases and you could reply from any alias, whether it's a normal alias, plus address or even a subdomain address.
All my emails are randomly generated and I use a unique email for every account.
I used services like SimpleLogin and AnonAddy in the past, but right now I don't see a reason to use them anymore since I can do the same thing with Fastmail.
Personally I don't like the Plus addressing method, since it would be pretty easy to get the real email, same goes for Gmail dot addresses.
[email protected] would be as bad cause it will be easy to guess the emails for other services and catch-all emails are a spam magnet.
a use-for-all email to sign up for anything
and then change to important email address if the service is indeed in need
there isnt much account that does not allow email change, so this works for me most the time
i have a bout 5 emails for important stuff and have those forward to one address for easier management
Particulary in the SaaS space where the providers have sold accounts at a discount- many have started disabling the email change. But yes, makes sense overall. Using a relay or throwaway email for trial accounts.
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in most cases these providers will approve an email change if proper documentations are provided
after all, in such cases i do really want to have a proper business with them, and all details are true and only email change is needed
I set up really strict rules for my main e-mail.
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I use simplelogin, was able to get an account due to my student status and I use a @d.mydomain.tld as the disposable. You can just disable it when it gets spammy.
I use a variant on this, enabling catchall on the domain, but throwing away anything without a period in the username. So [email protected] delivers but jill@ john@ info@ accounts@ sales@ don't. I can then give a unique e-mail to every signup without any effort, and blacklist the rare abusers.
For time based e-mails, e.g. competition entries or short lived memberships, I used to also set up alias subdomains say [email protected] with some subdomain scheme that relates to months, here gamma = March, then pull the MX records at the end of the relevant month, using a new naming scheme each year. That said I often forgot to kill the subdomain and am amazed how little marketing mail competition entries actually attract.
I use my own domains (personal.com, business.com, junk.com) and wrote a php interface on localhost to cpanel API on a simple shared hosting account, to manage individual forwarders which I create for every single service. config, addresses, usernames/passwords, notes for each login is stored in a json, locally, sync'd with google drive.
If I start receviing spam to an address I can just change it and no more spam.
I use thunderbird + virtual sender extension to be able to reply from any email addresses that the email was forwarded to. I believe that later versions have similar functions built in.