Do I need an alias email service?

10 days ago by rageagainstthemachine to c/privacy

I started looking into email alias services like SimpleLogin, Addy, etc. and I'm wondering if I really need it. Here's why:

My email provider has domain alias functionality. I can connect multiple domains to it. Let's say I'm ratm@domain1.com.

I can buy domain2.com and create an email address called anon@domain2.com. All emails (to both addresses) will land in the same inbox.

I can also create a catch-all email address so that I can create login unique emails for each service, like: lemmy@domain2.com, mastodon@domain2.com, etc.

So I guess my question is: What do I get from an email alias service that I'm not already getting from my email provider?

Is it maybe that I won't be able to reply from the service emails? Like, would I not be able to reply from lemmy@domain2.com since it's only a catch-all? So I can receive mail to it, but can't send from it?

CrabAndBroom 21 points 10 days ago

What I also do with mine is create a new alias for each thing I give my email to, and label which service it was. That way, if they sell my email onto someone else I'll know exactly who did it, and if I want to unsubscribe from something I don't have to go through their whole process and trust them to honour it, I can just nuke the alias and then it's their problem lol

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valar 11 points 10 days ago

For me, it's that I can make email addresses that are not able to be identified/associated with each other. Meaning alias1@yourcustomdomain.com and alias2@yourcustomdomain.com are clearly both the same identity. It's a fingerprint. This may not be one of your privacy concerns.

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rageagainstthemachine 3 points 10 days ago

Fair enough. So do you do a custom domain for every single service you use?

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valar 2 points 10 days ago

My aliasing service provides multiple domains to chose from whenever I create a new address. I try to mix them up but no, there aren't enough to have a different one for every single service. But together with the fact that I'm not the only user they have using those domains, I feel there's enough obscurity.

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czl 8 points 10 days ago

Replyjng (or sending email outright from one of the aliases) and management are the two biggest features. It’s very easy to just click a button and disable/enable an alias. Creation is also much simpler (unless you do a catchall)

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rageagainstthemachine 3 points 10 days ago

Interesting. Wouldn't it be easier with a catch-all? Like if I walk into a business and they ask me for an email I could give them business1@domain.com. And then business2@domain.com for the business next door.

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czl 1 point 10 days ago

Easier/more convenient? Yeah for sure.

It’s more of a preference in terms of how you wanna deal with possible spam. For instance, I have 2 domains and in one of them I need to create every single email before it’s available. It’s more cumbersome, but it prevents someone emailing me on say admin@mydomain.com.

The other person chooses the convenience, so when they give out any Email@theirdomain.com the alias is automatically created. You can still disable any alias after the fact, but nothing prevents that first email from you.

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dieTasse 1 point 7 days ago

I think convenience, replies and encryption (where applicable) by default are the main benefits. Using Proton Pass + Simple Login is cool integration btw. Makes things so much easier.

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