Email encryption protects you from hackers, but does nothing for your anonymity. Email account service providers like Google have your name, phone number and other personal information. You can even see everything in your inbox and who you are corresponding with. So how can you send an email without revealing your identity? How are you protecting the information in this email?
You need a reliable anonymous email account provider that doesn’t track you or keep logs. But how do you know what to look for in an anonymous email provider? Because of that, I’m here!
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I’ll help you understand what anonymous email accounts are and show you which providers are the most reliable. Some of them still collect some data and are willing to share that data with various third parties, so you really need to know what you’re getting into.
What are anonymous email accounts?
Anonymous email accounts hide your identity. That’s because they don’t contain your personally identifiable information, including your IP address, device name, or timestamp. In addition, anonymous email services encrypt the content of your email. It means nobody can find out it was you who accidentally sent steamy Nicholas Cage fan fiction to everyone in the company.
That said, being anonymous on the internet isn’t easy and nothing can guarantee complete anonymity. All you can do is make it incredibly difficult for malicious actors to trace an email back to you or unblock its content. To do this you need a secure, anonymous email account.
What makes an email account anonymous?
A reputable anonymous email service provider will encrypt your email content, metadata and subject line. Some services also hide your IP address. Your email is vulnerable as it travels from server to server, but encryption makes it unreadable to anyone who isn’t the intended recipient.
Also consider the privacy policies of the providers. Most services have at least a don’t know policy, which means you don’t have to give out any private information to set up an account. Service providers don’t know anything about you, so they can’t share anything with various third parties.
A premium service also has a No logging policy. This guarantees that the provider does not track any of your activity, which means even more privacy.
“Partyslayer483” is not enough to remain anonymous
Using a weird email name is not enough to hide your identity. It’s common for people to use their real name as an email address, so some like to think they’re going anonymous if they use something more creative instead.
That’s not true. Your buddy might not recognize “partyslayer483” on Reddit, but your email account provider knows who you are.
Email service providers like Google still know some of yours personal information because this is required to set up an account. Even worse, your entire inbox is stored with them, including all file attachments. Services with no particular focus on privacy have full access to everything you send and receive, making it impossible to remain anonymous while using them.
Gmail isn’t anonymous
Google’s Gmail is a secure email service, but it’s anything but anonymous. Google can see everything you’ve ever sent or received. It has full access to your email content and uses this data for targeted advertising and to improve its services . Even if you don’t care that Google makes money from your data, you should know that anyone can trace those emails back to you.
Any hacker or tracker can track your emails Track you based on your IP address or account information.Wait, can’t you just set up a Gmail account with fake information? Yes you can! But it won’t help you because Google knows you by your IP address and other metadata. All of this information can be traced back to you. This is why you need an anonymous email account.
Reasons to use anonymous email accounts
Hackers and shady dark web -Surfers aren’t the only people who use anonymous email accounts. You too need to send and receive anonymous emails if:
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- You live in a country where the authorities monitor your online activities.
- You are a journalist or activist reporting on sensitive issues.
- You’re in to sue your company for unethical practices.
- You no longer want tech companies and advertisers to take advantage of your private data.
- You choose to own your company and nobody has the right to violate your privacy.
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Regardless of the reason, you should have full control over who gets access to your private email correspondence. Using an anonymous email account is only one piece of the puzzle, albeit an important one. In addition, you should also surf anonymously, otherwise you will leave enough cookie crumbs for third parties to follow you.
Browse the Web Anonymously
Using an anonymous email account won’t help much if you don’t take any other measures against data tracking. Browsers, search engines and services like Google Maps and YouTube track a lot of your data. They know your name, location, interests, browsing activity and even where you’ve been in the last 24 hours.
If you find this pretty scary, protect yourself with a VPN .
See also: How to Create Gmail Account?
The only way to surf the web with superior privacy is to use a verified VPN service. VPNs like CyberGhost hide your IP address to prevent websites and services from knowing your real location. They also route your traffic through encrypted channels to make your data unreadable in case someone gets their hands on it. Always connect to your VPN server before sending email or browsing online.
Nonetheless, you should probably avoid certain email services entirely (see Google and Yahoo!). Even if you use a VPN, you still have to use real information like your phone number to create an account, which defeats the point. Here are some of the best anonymous email accounts (in no particular order) that don’t require you to reveal your identity.
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7 Anonymous Email Account Providers
1. ProtonMail
ProtonMail is one of the best anonymous email service providers and it’s free! Your emails are end-to-end encrypted. The only party who can read your email is the recipient of your message. ProtonMail cannot access your messages because they are stored encrypted. Best of all, You don’t have to provide your personal information to set up an email account.
ProtonMail is a great place to start as it gives you 500MB of storage and a limit of 150 emails per day for free. The free basic plan isn’t bad, but if you upgrade to the Plus plan, you’ll benefit from 5 GB of storage, 1000 emails daily, a custom domain name, email aliases, and more. If your email needs go beyond that, you can opt for the Visionary plan, which includes more storage, aliases, multi-user support, and even beta access to new features.
2. Tutanota
In many ways, Tutanota is on par with ProtonMail – you really can’t go wrong with it. Tutanota encrypts your emails so nobody can read what’s in your inbox, including developers. It also hides your IP address so that even if someone somehow decrypts your email, your location cannot be discovered.
Tutanota is available for free and you get 1 GB of storage space, which is enough for most users. You can also upgrade to the paid premium plan to get your own custom domain, 5 alias addresses, and email support. If you need additional storage, you can upgrade to the Teams plan, which includes 10 GB of storage. Alternatively, Tutanota offers optional storage packages that offer up to a whopping 1 TB of storage capacity.
3. Mailfence
Mailfence is another free anonymous email provider that also offers some great premium features. The mail system is encrypted, you can filter your e-mails as you like and create aliases. Mailfence can keep its promise to protect your privacy because its servers are located in Belgium. European Union law is on your side and no one can take your data by force.
With Mailfence you can start with a free plan that includes 500MB of storage , Email support and end-to-end encryption. If you need more storage, priority support, and custom email domain names, you can upgrade to one of the premium plans. You can get up to 50GB of storage space for your emails.
4. AnonAddy
AnonAddy offers free encrypted email accounts that don’t track you. It is open source and does not rely on targeted advertising. You can install the AnonAddy browser extension on your favorite privacy-oriented browsers and generate unlimited aliases to sign up for newsletters and web accounts.
AnonAddy’s free account is enough for your basic needs , but unfortunately your bandwidth will be quite limited. If you need custom domains, additional usernames, and more or unlimited bandwidth, you should probably go for the premium plans. Say goodbye to spammers and unwanted ads!
5. Private-Mail
Private-Mail offers encrypted email accounts starting at $8.95/month. It might not be free, but it’s privacy and security focused, so it’s worth checking out. It encrypts your files with the same 256-bit AES algorithm that CyberGhost VPN uses and you are the only one with access. Private e-mail cannot see your data either, as the encryption is done on the client side.
Private e-mail is superbly suitable for file sharing. The basic account gets you 10GB worth of local storage and 10GB worth of cloud storage, and you can double that by upgrading to the Pro account for $15.95. You can also enable the self-destruct option for your emails for extra security.
6. Hushmail
Hushmail is a well-established provider of encrypted email services that has been serving businesses for over two decades. While it offers multiple plans for different types of practices and businesses, you can opt for the personal plan for an annual fee of $49.98. You get 10GB of storage, email aliases, 2-factor authentication support, and secure web forms.
The custom web form is what Hushmail really sets it apart from all the other email account providers on this list. If you have a website, you can set up a secure web form that visitors and customers can use to send you files and sensitive information.
Hushmail comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee – more than enough time to find out if it’s worth the high price.
7. CounterMail
CounterMail’s website and applications can look extremely dated, but don’t let that sway you.This anonymous email account provider has a strong focus on security with OpenPGP encryption, SSL server authentication and two-factor authentication.
In addition, CounterMail offers an anonymous payment method to help you protect your identity. For $3.29/month for the two-year plan, you get 4GB of storage and up to 20 aliases.
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Nonetheless, CounterMail has one major downside (at the time of writing). It is currently like a gated community and you need an invite from a premium user to create your account. If you don’t know anyone, you can also request an invite from CounterMail, but you’ll have to wait in line. The service itself is worth the price as long as you’re patient enough to wait until you get in.
Too long; Not read
In a hurry and need answers now? Here’s a quick overview of what each anonymous email service in our list offers.
Email Accounts You Need to Stay Away From
Not all email accounts protect your data and personal information. It may surprise you, but most email providers do the opposite. They harvest your data and even sell it to third parties! Avoid the following service providers and use an anonymous email account as soon as possible.
1. Yahoo! Mail
The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
Yahoo was once huge with over 3 billion users until a massive security breach exposed an unimaginable number of email addresses, phone numbers, names and other user data. What’s worse, Yahoo covered it up for four years before they got in. If you’re still a Yahoo user, pack your bags and delete your Yahoo account yesterday! Yahoo never recovered and your details are still exposed.
2. Microsoft Outlook
Outlook is not as vulnerable as other services, but it is far from being anonymous and privacy oriented. Microsoft is known for collecting user data across Windows, Office Suite, Teams, Outlook and every other app and service it owns. Also, Outlook isn’t client-side encrypted, so Microsoft is free to snoop around and check your email. Even your file attachments are fully exposed.
If you care about your privacy and data, switch from Outlook to an anonymous email account provider.
3. Gmail
Gmail rose to power with the epic demise of Yahoo.
Google focuses on protecting data and patching security flaws extremely quickly, but it doesn’t protect your privacy. Similar to Yahoo, Google collects user data from everything it owns and uses it primarily for targeted advertising. Gmail is one of its largest data sources, and Google can search your inbox and even review the files you’ve shared.
Avoid Gmail if you’re signing up for a bank account or sharing important documents. You’re not the only one hanging around in your inbox.
4. AOL Mail
Yes, AOL still exists – although it no longer mails CDs. If you have or are considering an active AOL account, look the other way.
AOL is in the same boat as Yahoo, although it has changed hands several times. The company tracks all emails you send and receive, including file attachments, and uses your data as it sees fit. Plus, past serious data breaches have proven it’s also far from secure.
Send anonymous emails with CyberGhost VPN
Not quite ready to leave Gmail or Yahoo but still not in the spotlight? Connect to a reliable VPN like CyberGhost VPN and create a new email account without revealing your real information.
Google, your ISP, and other companies can see your real IP address, location and learn about your online habits. CyberGhost VPN hides your IP address, so your identity and location remain hidden. We also encrypt your data and traffic, so nobody can read the files and information you send.
Secure your internet data
Get access to thousands of servers worldwide and secure all your devices simultaneously. You can install CyberGhost VPN on up to 7 devices at the same time and yourself with only egg connect to a server a few clicks. You don’t have to be particularly tech-savvy to protect yourself from trackers and greedy companies that monetize your data.
Final thoughts
Since that As the internet becomes more hostile and restricted, it’s almost impossible to protect yourself without a powerful VPN. Companies like Google want your data and track everything you do online to get it. You snoop around in your private email inbox and even access the files you send and receive. Stop these practices with CyberGhost VPN and anonymous email services to protect what’s yours.
Services like ProtonMail and Tutanota don’t require personal information, don’t track , and encrypt your emails. You can also create aliases or set your emails to self-destruct. It’s almost impossible for someone to track you down and steal your data. You are entitled to privacy, anonymity and control over your data.
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