Privacy Tools Guide

Email forwarding hides your real inbox from spammers and services. When signing up for a website, you generate a unique forwarding address instead of your real email. If that service leaks your email or sells it to spammers, only the forwarding address is exposed. Spammers email the alias; your real inbox stays clean.

This guide compares 5 privacy-focused forwarding services. Choose SimpleLogin if you want maximum features and self-hosting. Choose addy.io if you prefer open-source and don’t need advanced customization. Choose Firefox Relay if you use Mozilla products. Choose DuckDuckGo Email if you want the simplest one-click setup. Choose ForwardEmail if you want to self-host with minimal configuration.

The Email Forwarding Problem

Your email address is your digital identity. Every service you join—banks, shopping sites, newsletters, random accounts—receives your email. Services leak, sell, or misuse addresses. One email address can generate 200+ pieces of spam annually.

Email forwarding creates disposable intermediaries:

You (@gmail.com)
    ↓
ForwardingService (creates unique.alias@service.com)
    ↓
Spammer/Service (receives forward, not your real email)

If the service leaks the forwarding address, you disable that alias. Spammers email the dead alias. Your real email is never leaked.

SimpleLogin: Maximum Features and Control

SimpleLogin is the most powerful email forwarding service. Create unlimited aliases, track which services leak your address, receive from any sender, and even reply as the forwarding address.

Pricing:

Strengths:

Features:

  1. Alias Generation: 
    # SimpleLogin generates addresses like:
friendly_name_1234@simplelogin.com
newsletter_5678@sl.me (shorter domain)
your-domain@yourdomain.com (custom domain)
  2. Reply as Alias: ``` Email from: newsletter@somesite.com → your-alias@simplelogin.com → your@gmail.com

Reply through SimpleLogin: your@gmail.com → your-alias@simplelogin.com → newsletter@somesite.com (Newsletter sees reply from alias, not your real email)


3. **Leak Detection:**
SimpleLogin tracks which alias each service received. If you get spam at:
`newsletter_5678@simplelogin.com`

You immediately know newsletter.com sold or leaked your address.

**Setup:**

```bash
# Using SimpleLogin CLI
pip install simplelogin

# Generate alias
simplelogin alias create --description "Netflix signup"

# Example output:
# Alias: netflix_xyz@simplelogin.com
# Created: 2026-03-20

Limitations:

Use Case: Best for power users managing dozens of services. The analytics and reply features are invaluable.

Addy.io: Open Source and Developer-Friendly

Addy.io is open-source, meaning code is publicly auditable. Developers can self-host. Pricing is transparent and reasonable.

Pricing:

Strengths:

Wildcard Aliases (Unique Feature):

Create wildcard: *@yourdomain.com

Signs up for Netflix:
netflix@yourdomain.com (auto-created, forwards to you)

Signs up for Hulu:
hulu@yourdomain.com (auto-created, forwards to you)

No manual alias creation needed.

This is addy.io’s killer feature. Create one wildcard and generate infinite unique addresses automatically.

Setup:

# Add custom domain to addy.io
# 1. Verify domain ownership (DNS TXT record)
# 2. Add MX records pointing to addy.io

# Example MX records:
# Priority 10: mail.addy.io
# Priority 20: mail2.addy.io (backup)

# Verify
dig yourdomain.com MX
# Should show addy.io MX records

Limitations:

Use Case: Best for developers who want open-source transparency and self-hosting options.

Firefox Relay: Simple Integration with Mozilla Products

Firefox Relay is Mozilla’s email forwarding service. If you use Firefox, accounts.firefox.com, and Mozilla services, Relay integrates .

Pricing:

Strengths:

Integration:

Firefox address bar → Click 1Password/Firefox Relay extension
→ Generate alias (one-click) → Fill form → Done

Limitations:

Use Case: Best for casual users who want simplicity. The $0.99/month price is unbeatable for unlimited aliases.

DuckDuckGo Email: Zero-Config Simplicity

DuckDuckGo Email is part of DuckDuckGo’s privacy suite. It’s the simplest option: minimal features, one-click setup.

Pricing:

Strengths:

How It Works:

Sign up at duckduckgo.com/email
Get your unique email like: abc123def@duck.com
Generate aliases like: username@duck.com for any service
All forward to your primary email

Setup (Fastest Among All Services):

  1. Visit duckduckgo.com/email
  2. Sign in with your DuckDuckGo account
  3. Start generating aliases immediately
  4. No verification, no configuration

Limitations:

Use Case: Best for users who want zero setup friction and don’t need advanced features.

ForwardEmail: Self-Hosted and Open Source

ForwardEmail is open-source and designed for self-hosting. Run your own email forwarding server without relying on third parties.

Pricing:

Strengths:

Self-Hosting Setup:

# Install ForwardEmail on your server
git clone https://github.com/forwardemail/forwardemail.email.git
cd forwardemail
npm install

# Configure domain
# Add MX records to your domain:
# 10 mx1.forwardemail.net
# 20 mx2.forwardemail.net

# Set up forwarding rule
# forwardemail admin dashboard:
# admin@yourdomain.com → forwards to your@gmail.com

Advanced Features (Self-Hosted):

# Create regex-based rules
# Match: support.*@yourdomain.com → support@company.com
# Match: billing.*@yourdomain.com → billing@company.com
# All others → your@gmail.com

# Enable PGP encryption
# Forward emails encrypted to your public key

Limitations:

Use Case: Best for developers who want full control and understand email infrastructure.

Feature Comparison Table

Feature SimpleLogin Addy.io Firefox Relay DuckDuckGo ForwardEmail
Free Aliases 10 10 5 Unlimited Self-hosted only
Unlimited Aliases (Paid) Yes Yes Yes N/A Depends
Custom Domains Yes (Premium) Yes No No Yes
Reply as Alias Yes No No No No
Leak Detection Yes No No No No
Open Source No Yes No No Yes
Self-Hosting Yes Yes No No Yes
Browser Extension Excellent Good Excellent Good N/A
Pricing $40/yr $3.99/mo $0.99/mo Free $3/mo
Privacy Rating Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent
Ease of Use Medium Medium Very Easy Very Easy Hard

Real-World Usage Scenarios

Scenario 1: Multiple Online Shopping Accounts

Use DuckDuckGo Email (free, unlimited):

Amazon signup: amazon_xyz@duck.com
eBay signup: ebay_abc@duck.com
Etsy signup: etsy_def@duck.com

If eBay leaks your address, only ebay_abc@duck.com gets spam.
Disable that alias, spam stops.

Scenario 2: Business Email Forwarding

Use SimpleLogin with custom domain:

Your domain: yourcompany.com
Create aliases:
- sales@yourcompany.com → sales@internal.com
- support@yourcompany.com → support@internal.com
- newsletter@yourcompany.com → you@personal.com

Customers see professional company email.
You control where emails actually arrive.

Scenario 3: Complete Privacy Setup

Use ForwardEmail self-hosted + custom domain:

Own infrastructure: yourserver.com
Domain: yourdomain.com

MX records point to your server.
All email forwarding happens on your equipment.
No external service knows your email patterns.

Scenario 4: Minimal Setup

Use Firefox Relay:

Firefox account → Enable Relay → One-click aliases
Generated alias in 1 second
Pay $0.99/month for unlimited
Done

Selecting the Right Service

Choose SimpleLogin if:

Choose Addy.io if:

Choose Firefox Relay if:

Choose DuckDuckGo Email if:

Choose ForwardEmail if:

Email Forwarding Best Practices

  1. Generate unique aliases per service: 
    netflix_2026@service.com (not netflix@service.com)
This prevents someone from correctly guessing your Netflix alias.
  2. Disable compromised aliases immediately: 
    If linkedin@addy.io starts getting spam, disable it.
LinkedIn was either hacked or sold your address.
  3. Use strong primary email: 
    Your real email should be strong password + 2FA.
If primary email is compromised, all forwarded emails leak.
  4. Monitor primary email for suspicious patterns: 
    If primary receives email to alias it never used:
Your alias was either guessed or service was hacked.
  5. Backup your alias list: 
    SimpleLogin/Addy.io can export aliases to CSV.
Keep backups in case service fails.

Migration Between Services

Moving from one service to another is mostly manual but possible:

# Export aliases from source
source_service export --format csv > aliases.csv

# Manually set up aliases in new service
# Re-register accounts that allow alias changes

# Update critical services (bank, email providers, hosting)
# These can usually be updated in security settings

# For others, old forwarding service can redirect to new one:
old-alias@oldservice.com → new-alias@newservice.com

Most people keep both services running during transition.

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