Proton Mail will now let users mask their email address to protect their online identity, as well as helping to prevent spam.
As one of the best secure email providers, the new feature is a boon for those who wish to maintain their anonymity online in an easy way. The new hide-my-email feature will be available to those on desktop and users on the web, letting them control who exactly can see their real email address.
The feature has been available in Proton Pass, the Swiss company's password manager, but users can now create email masks directly in Proton Mail.
Hide-my-email
Unique email aliases can be created for apps and websites, letting users keep their real, personal email address private. The new Security Center in the Proton Mail settings is where users will be able to do this.
This new hub is also where Proton Sentinel now resides, which is aimed at preventing account takeovers by monitoring activity.
When Proton acquired the open source email masking service SimpleLogin in 2022, it incorporated its functionality into Proton Pass. The firm notes that, "having seen the success and impact of these features, Proton is now integrating hide-my-email aliases directly into Proton Mail for the first time."
It also said that by integrating it directly with Proton Mail, users have "far more control of their online identity while offering the ease of use that users rightly expect."
Anant Vijay Singh, Product Lead at Proton Mail, added: “your email address is your identity, it’s your digital passport that identifies who you are online. If you use the same email address for every account, you are putting your whole online identity at risk in the event of a leak."
"Once your email address is out in the wild, there’s nothing you can do to stop it being added to spam lists, sold to marketers, or even be used for targeted spear-phishing attacks."
Other vendors have been incorporating email masking features into their products recently too - NordPass now has this function, and Firefox has integrated Firefox Relay within its flagship browser as well.
