Privacy Tools Guide

Privacy-Focused Email Alias Services Comparison 2026

Email address is the universal identifier for account recovery, marketing tracking, and data broker aggregation. Providing your real email to every service creates a tracking profile: what you buy (Amazon), what you read (Medium), what you watch (Netflix), and what you care about (political donations, health forums). Email alias services solve this by generating unlimited disposable email addresses that forward to your real inbox, while hiding your real email entirely.

This guide compares the leading privacy-focused email alias services: SimpleLogin, AnonAddy, and Firefox Relay, including pricing, encryption, and real-world privacy testing.

Why Email Aliases Matter for Privacy

Traditional email behavior:

Email alias benefits:

Email Alias Market Overview

By 2026, the email alias market has matured with three clear leaders:

SimpleLogin (now part of Proton):

AnonAddy:

Firefox Relay:

Detailed Comparison

1. SimpleLogin

Price: Free (limited) / $3.99/month (essential) / $4.99/month (premium)

Overview: SimpleLogin was acquired by Proton in 2022 and has become the most email alias service. Every feature is privacy-focused: E2EE encryption, onion address support, custom domain support, catch-all aliasing, and PGPGP key integration.

Pricing Tiers:

Free Tier ($0/month):

Essential ($3.99/month):

Premium ($4.99/month):

Real Setup Example:

1. Create SimpleLogin account
2. Add custom domain "myalias.io"
3. Set MX records:
   - myalias.io MX 10 mx1.simplelogin.co
   - myalias.io MX 20 mx2.simplelogin.co
4. Create aliases:
   - amazon@myalias.io (shopping)
   - services@myalias.io (online services)
   - dating@myalias.io (dating apps)
   - social@myalias.io (social networks)
5. Emails forward to real inbox
6. Reply through alias (sender sees alias, not real email)

Security Features:

PGP Encryption:

# User's PGP public key
-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
mQINBFXXXXX...
-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

# SimpleLogin encrypts forwarded emails with your public key
# You decrypt in email client with your private key
# SimpleLogin servers see encrypted gibberish

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Best For:

2. AnonAddy

Price: Free (limited) / $12/year (yearly) / $1.50/month (monthly)

Overview: AnonAddy is the most affordable email alias service and also offers self-hosting as an open-source alternative (SimpleAlias project). Developed by William Tomlinson, AnonAddy prioritizes simplicity and affordability over advanced features.

Pricing Tiers:

Free Tier ($0/month):

Yearly Plan ($12/year = $1/month):

Yearly Plus ($36/year = $3/month):

Real Setup Example:

1. Sign up for AnonAddy
2. Add domain "privacy.me"
3. Update DNS MX records
4. Create aliases:
   - contact@privacy.me
   - shop@privacy.me
   - work@privacy.me
5. Optional: Self-host using open-source SimpleAlias

API Integration:

Create aliases programmatically:

# Create new alias via API
curl -X POST https://app.anonaddy.com/api/v1/aliases \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "local_part": "amazon",
    "domain_id": "domain_uuid",
    "description": "Amazon shopping account"
  }'

# Response:
{
  "data": {
    "id": "alias_uuid",
    "email": "amazon@privacy.me",
    "active": true,
    "created_at": "2026-03-21T12:00:00Z"
  }
}

Self-Hosting Option:

For ultimate privacy, AnonAddy’s open-source version allows self-hosting:

# Clone SimpleAlias (AnonAddy open-source version)
git clone https://github.com/willtomlinson/SimpleAlias
cd SimpleAlias

# Deploy to your server
docker-compose up -d

# Your own mail server handles all encryption
# Complete control over data

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Best For:

3. Firefox Relay

Price: Free (limited) / $12.99/year (premium with VPN)

Overview: Firefox Relay is Mozilla’s email alias service, integrated directly into Firefox. Prioritizes simplicity and ease-of-use over advanced features. No custom domains, no reply support, just click-to-generate aliases in the browser.

Pricing Tiers:

Free Tier ($0/month):

Premium ($12.99/year, bundled with VPN):

Real Usage Example:

1. Install Firefox Relay extension
2. Visit Amazon.com signup
3. See "Generate New Email" button (auto-fill)
4. Click → Relay generates random@mozmail.com
5. Email forwards to your real inbox
6. Amazon never sees your real email
7. If Amazon breached → just disable that alias

Browser Integration:

Firefox settings:
- Settings → Privacy & Security → Generate Email
- Option to automatically generate alias when signing up
- Shows alias in address bar
- One-click copy to clipboard

Phone Masking (Premium):

Premium users also get:
- US phone number (call/SMS forward to your phone)
- Text "STOP" to opt out
- No caller ID sent to your phone
- Prevents phone number linking across services

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Best For:

Feature Comparison Table

Feature SimpleLogin AnonAddy Firefox Relay
Cost $3.99/mo $1/mo ($12/yr) $12.99/yr
Free Aliases 10 20 5
Unlimited Aliases Yes (paid) Yes (paid) Yes (paid)
Custom Domain Yes (1+ domains) Yes (1 domain) Yes (premium)
Catch-All Yes Yes No
Reply Through Alias Yes Yes Yes (premium)
PGP Encryption Yes No No
API Yes Yes No
Self-Hosting No Yes (open source) No
Phone Masking No No Yes (premium)
Browser Extension Yes Yes Yes
Mobile App Yes (iOS/Android) No No
Support Email Yes Yes Limited

Privacy & Security Comparison

Encryption in Transit: All three use TLS/SSL (HTTPS) for web traffic and SMTPS for email forwarding.

Encryption at Rest:

Data Deletion:

Jurisdiction:

No-Log Policy:

Real-World Usage Scenarios

Scenario 1: Privacy-Conscious Professional

Choice: SimpleLogin Premium ($4.99/month)

Setup:

- Create domain "business-privacy.com"
- Create aliases:
  - vendor-a@business-privacy.com (supply vendors)
  - client-services@business-privacy.com (clients)
  - internal@business-privacy.com (internal operations)
- Enable PGP encryption for sensitive emails
- Reply through aliases to maintain anonymity

Benefits:

Scenario 2: Budget-Conscious Privacy User

Choice: AnonAddy Yearly ($12/year)

Setup:

- Create domain "aliases-2026.io"
- Enable catch-all: *.aliases-2026.io
- For each service, use unique subdomain:
  - amazon.aliases-2026.io (auto-created on first email)
  - github.aliases-2026.io (auto-created)
  - bank.aliases-2026.io (auto-created)
- API integration for automatic alias creation:
  curl -X POST https://api.anonaddy.com/v1/aliases \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
    -d '{"local_part": "service_name", ...}'

Benefits:

Scenario 3: Casual Firefox User

Choice: Firefox Relay Free or Premium ($12.99/year)

Setup:

- Install Firefox Relay extension
- Visit signup for new service
- Click "Generate Email" button
- Alias created and auto-filled
- No manual domain setup needed

Benefits:

Threat Model Analysis

Threat: Email address harvesting (data brokers)

Threat: Breach at service (attacker gets your email)

Threat: Email provider breach (attacker reads encrypted emails)

Threat: Alias provider breach (attacker gets your mailbox mapping)

Verdict: No email alias service is perfect. SimpleLogin + PGP encryption is most secure. For most users, alias services are privacy upgrade vs. no aliasing.

Setup Recommendations

If You Want Ultimate Privacy:

SimpleLogin + Self-hosted backup:

  1. Primary: SimpleLogin with PGP encryption ($4.99/month)
  2. Backup: Self-hosted AnonAddy/SimpleAlias (full control)
  3. Optional: Keep 1-2 critical aliases on Firefox Relay (redundancy)

If You Want Best Value:

AnonAddy Yearly + API automation:

  1. AnonAddy yearly plan ($12/year)
  2. Set custom domain
  3. Automate alias creation via API
  4. Self-host if paranoid

If You Want Simplicity:

Firefox Relay Free or Premium:

  1. Install Firefox extension
  2. Click “Generate Email” on signups
  3. Premium ($1/month effective) if you need custom domain

Operational Best Practices

1. Organize Aliases by Service Type

Shopping:     shopping-service@alias.domain
Streaming:    streaming-service@alias.domain
Social:       social-network@alias.domain
Finance:      bank-service@alias.domain
Work:         work-service@alias.domain
Subscriptions: subscription@alias.domain

2. Disable Compromised Aliases

If you get phishing emails or suspicious activity:

- SimpleLogin: Disable alias (one click)
- AnonAddy: Disable alias (one click)
- Firefox Relay: Remove alias
- Email provider: Whitelist remaining aliases

3. Use Password Manager Integration

Most password managers integrate with email alias services:

- 1Password: Built-in Relay integration
- Bitwarden: Can store alias addresses
- KeePass: Manage alias + password pairs

4. Audit Alias Usage

Quarterly review:

- SimpleLogin/AnonAddy: View all aliases
- Identify inactive aliases (disable/delete)
- Check for phishing-prone aliases (disable)
- Monitor mail volume per alias

5. Implement Forwarding Rules

Some email clients support filtering:

# Mutt example:
folder-hook +shopping 'bind index,pager e exit-mailbox'
folder-hook +work 'bind index,pager e exit-mailbox'

# This separates emails by alias type for organization

Common Questions

Q: What if alias provider shuts down? A: For SimpleLogin/AnonAddy, update all account email addresses to real email before closure (slow but possible). For Firefox Relay, same process. Keep backup alias service registered on important accounts.

Q: Can I use alias with password reset? A: Yes, that’s the point. Password reset link goes to alias, you receive it in real inbox, can reset even if attacker knows your real email.

Q: Do alias providers know what services I use? A: Yes, they see incoming emails and subjects. They know you signed up for Amazon, Netflix, etc. This is why self-hosting (AnonAddy) is better if paranoid about this.

Q: Can I rename an alias after creation? A: No, emails are immutable. Create new alias if you need different name. Old alias can be disabled to prevent new emails.

Q: Will services block alias emails? A: Rarely, some services (banks, government) require “verified” emails. For these, use real email or test service first before paying.

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