Hide My Email: The Ultimate Privacy Hack in 2025

In 2025, sharing your email address online is like handing out your home address to strangers. It’s how companies track you, spammers find you, and data leaks expose you. That’s why “hide my email” is more than a tech tip: it’s the smartest privacy move you can make this year.

In this guide, we’ll break down what “hide my email” actually means, how it protects your privacy, and the best tools to do it.

What Does “Hide My Email” Actually Mean?

Hiding your email means masking your real address with a disposable or alias email that forwards messages to your inbox. Instead of sharing your actual email with every app or website, you use a random or temporary address like x92sk@relay.example.com that you can delete or disable at any time.

This practice keeps your real email hidden from marketers, hackers, and data brokers, while still allowing you to receive legitimate messages.

Another alternative is to use plus addressing, which you can learn more about here.

Did Apple Popularize the Term “Hide My Email”?

The phrase “hide my email” became popular after Apple introduced it as a branded feature within iCloud+ in 2021.

While the underlying concept of using email aliases predates Apple’s implementation by many years, Apple’s integration of the “hide my email” feature brought the term into mainstream use.

By giving the feature a clear, consumer-friendly name and bundling it with privacy-focused marketing, Apple helped normalize the idea of using alternate email addresses to protect personal identity.

How Does “Hide My Email” Work?

A “hide my email” feature, also known as “email masking”, works via relay services or alias generation systems. Here’s how it functions step-by-step:

1. Create an Alias: You generate an email address linked to your primary inbox. This is called an alias.
2. Use Alias When Signing Up: You provide this alias instead of your real email on websites or services.
3. Receive Forwarded Messages: All messages sent to the alias get forwarded to your real inbox.
4. Control or Delete the Alias: If it starts receiving spam, you can deactivate it without affecting your main address.

Usually, you will use an email alias in combination with filters and folders. For example, if you create an email alias called “marketing@mydomain.com”, you can create an email folder titled “Marketing”. You can then create a custom rule so that all emails sent to that alias are immediately stored in that folder. This will help you stay organized.

The Privacy Benefits of Hiding Your Email

Here’s why hiding your email is one of the smartest privacy hack you can adopt in 2025:

1. Combat spam and phishing: if one alias gets compromised or starts receiving spam, you can delete it instantly.
   
2. Prevent email-based tracking: many marketers track user behavior by matching email addresses across platforms. When you use a different alias for each service, this kind of tracking becomes impossible.
   
3. Maintain anonymity across platforms: want to sign up anonymously to forums, newsletters, or apps? Using a masked email allows you to do so without linking your real identity.
   
4. Protect against data breaches: even if a service suffers a breach, your real email remains safe and unlisted in leaked databases.

Who Offers “Hide My Email” Services in 2025?

Let’s break down some of the key players offering a “hide my email” feature and how they compare.

1. Apple’s Hide My Email (Built Into iCloud+)

• Pros: Integrated into the Apple ecosystem, easy to use, iOS/macOS native.
• Cons: Limited to Apple devices, lacks granular alias management.
• Privacy Strength: High, assuming you trust Apple with your metadata.

2. Firefox Relay

• Pros: Free tier available, browser extension, built by Mozilla.
• Cons: Limits on the number of active aliases for free users.
• Privacy Strength: Excellent, backed by Mozilla’s privacy-first mission.

3. Mailfence Aliases (Recommended)

• Pros: Built into a fully encrypted, privacy-focused email suite. Allows creation of aliases per use case.
• Cons: Requires switching to Mailfence for full functionality (although we make switching really easy).
• Privacy Strength: Very high. No tracking, no ads, and OpenPGP support.

When Should You Use the “Hide my Email” Feature?

Convinced to use alias emails? But not sure where to start? Here are a few common use cases you can start with.

Online Shopping

Avoid spam from retailers by using a dedicated alias. If it gets sold or spammed, deactivate it without affecting your main inbox.

Anonymous Feedback or Whistleblowing

Want to report something sensitive? A masked email ensures your identity isn’t compromised, especially when paired with encryption.

Gaming & Online Forums

Many platforms require email for account creation, but don’t deserve your real one. An alias protects you from breaches in lesser-known networks.

Newsletters and Promotions

Use separate aliases for newsletters. When it becomes too noisy or irrelevant, disable and walk away clean. By the way, make sure to sign up to our Privacy Newsletter right here.

Tips for Effectively Using “Hide My Email” Features

As you scale your alias usage, staying organized matters:

• Tag your aliases in your inbox (e.g., “Shopping,” “Work,” “Gaming”).
• Use descriptive naming when generating aliases.
• Review periodically to deactivate unused or compromised aliases.

In addition, make sure to avoid the following common mistakes:

1. Relying only on browser extensions. Many are privacy theater and leak metadata.
2. Trusting services with unclear privacy policies. Always check for data resale, advertising links, and jurisdiction. You can check the Mailfence privacy policy right here.

How to Hide Your Email with Mailfence

If you’re convinced about the importance of hiding your email, we highly recommend you create a Mailfence account.

Using aliases on Mailfence is simple:

1. Log in to your Mailfence account.
2. Go to Settings > Messages > Aliases.
3. Create a new alias for a specific service (e.g., shopping2025@yourdomain.com).
4. Use that alias when registering online.
5. Monitor traffic, and deactivate or replace aliases if needed.

Bonus tip: You can create category-specific aliases like:

• banking@yourdomain.com
• social@yourdomain.com
• newsletters@yourdomain.com

This helps isolate threats and spot data leaks.

Final Thoughts: Hide My Email to Regain Control

Your email address is a digital passport. Stop handing it out without protection. Whether you’re an activist, a business owner, or simply a privacy-conscious citizen, the ability to hide your email is a practical, powerful defense.

Got any questions? Feel free to drop us an email at support@mailfence.com