If you have ever signed up for an online service and given them your real email address, then watched as that email started receiving marketing junk, breach notifications from companies you forgot you registered with, and the occasional successful phishing attempt, you have lived the case for email aliasing.
Email aliasing services let you generate a unique email address per service. The service emails the alias; the alias forwards to your real address. When the alias starts getting abuse, you disable it. The original real address never reaches the abusers.
SimpleLogin is the leading dedicated email aliasing service. It is also, since 2022, owned by Proton (the same company behind ProtonMail and ProtonVPN). I have used it as my primary aliasing service for over two years, with about 250 active aliases.
What SimpleLogin does
You sign up. You can create unlimited aliases (on the paid tier). Each alias has a generated address (random or chosen by you). You give the alias to a service. Mail to the alias is forwarded to your real address.
When you reply to a forwarded email, SimpleLogin substitutes the alias as the sender, so the original service does not see your real email address. The recipient does not know they are talking to an alias.
When an alias starts receiving spam or unwanted email, you disable it. Inbound mail to that alias is silently dropped. Your real address remains unaffected.
You can also set up custom domain aliases ([email protected]), giving you full control over the alias addresses. This requires DNS configuration but is straightforward.
Why this matters
Three concrete benefits.
You can identify which services have leaked or sold your email address. If [email protected] starts receiving spam, you know which company sold or leaked it.
You can disable individual relationships without touching anything else. If a service you signed up for becomes annoying or starts sending too many emails, you turn off the alias and never hear from them again. No need to find unsubscribe links.
You reduce your real email’s exposure to breaches. When a service is breached, your alias is in the breach data, not your real address. The blast radius of any single breach is contained.
For users who care about reducing the surface area of their personal information online, this is a meaningful improvement.
How SimpleLogin compares to alternatives
The four serious competitors are Firefox Relay, AnonAddy (now addy.io), Apple Hide My Email, and DuckDuckGo Email Protection.
SimpleLogin is the most full-featured of the bunch. Custom domains, unlimited aliases on paid tier, replies through aliases, integration with PGP, mailbox routing (multiple destination addresses based on alias), and a polished interface.
Firefox Relay (Mozilla) offers basic aliasing for free with a paid premium tier. Limited features compared to SimpleLogin but acceptable for users already deep in Mozilla services.
AnonAddy / addy.io is open source and self-hostable. Functionally similar to SimpleLogin. Slightly less polished interface. The right choice for users who specifically want self-hosting capability.
Apple Hide My Email is built into iCloud+ and works seamlessly within the Apple ecosystem. Limited to Apple devices for management. Fine for users who live entirely in the Apple world.
DuckDuckGo Email Protection is free and integrates with the DuckDuckGo browser ecosystem. Limited features (no replies, no custom domains on free tier). Useful for casual users.
For most users wanting comprehensive aliasing: SimpleLogin Premium at $30 per year is the right answer.
Specific features that matter in practice
Random alias generation. You can generate an alias on demand by visiting the SimpleLogin web interface or browser extension. The alias is a random string at @simplelogin.com (or your custom domain). Useful for one-off signups.
Word-based alias generation. Alternative to random strings: SimpleLogin can generate alias addresses using English words (“[email protected]”). More memorable for ongoing services.
Custom alias names. You can also create aliases with chosen names (“[email protected]”). Useful for organizing aliases by service.
Reply through aliases. Critical feature. When you reply to a forwarded email, SimpleLogin acts as a relay so the recipient sees the alias, not your real address. Without this feature, replying to a forwarded email exposes your real address; SimpleLogin handles this transparently.
PGP support. You can configure your PGP public key, and SimpleLogin will encrypt forwarded emails with your key before delivery. Useful for users who want end-to-end encryption between alias service and final destination.
Multiple mailboxes. You can configure multiple destination addresses and route different aliases to different mailboxes. Useful for separating personal and work contexts.
Browser extension. The SimpleLogin extension for Firefox, Chrome, Edge generates and inserts aliases directly into signup forms. Reduces friction significantly.
Mobile apps. iOS and Android apps for managing aliases on the go. Functional, not particularly polished.
Pricing
SimpleLogin pricing as of 2026:
- Free: 15 aliases, 1 mailbox, no custom domains
- Premium: $30 per year, unlimited aliases, unlimited mailboxes, custom domains, all features
Bundled with Proton: ProtonMail Plus and Proton Unlimited subscribers get SimpleLogin Premium included. If you are already paying for Proton, SimpleLogin is essentially free.
For new users not on Proton: $30 per year for the standalone Premium plan is a fair price.
What SimpleLogin does not do
It does not encrypt email content end to end (unless you configure PGP, which most users will not). The standard service is an aliasing layer; the underlying email is still standard email.
It does not protect against phishing or other content-based threats. SimpleLogin forwards what it receives.
It does not work as a complete email replacement. You still need a real email account somewhere; SimpleLogin sits in front of it.
It does not eliminate the need for traditional spam filtering. Aliases reduce exposure but do not eliminate spam entirely.
Use cases where it shines
Signing up for new online services. Always use a fresh alias. Disable when the service becomes annoying.
Newsletter signups. One alias per newsletter. When a newsletter becomes uninteresting, disable.
Ecommerce shopping. Each store gets its own alias. When the inevitable breach happens, you contain the blast radius.
Online forums and communities. Per-community alias makes it harder for forum operators to cross-reference users.
Job applications. One alias per company application. Helps track recruiter outreach and (eventually) lets you cut off communication when needed.
Sharing your contact email publicly. Use a public-facing alias. Disable if it starts receiving abuse.
Use cases where it is overkill
Email to family and close friends. Use your real address for ongoing personal communication.
Government services and financial accounts where you need long-term reachability. Use a stable, personally-managed address.
Critical recovery emails for important accounts. Risk of losing access if SimpleLogin has issues; use a real address for these.
Migration cost
Adding SimpleLogin to your workflow: roughly an hour to set up the account, configure preferences, install the browser extension. Then ongoing use is essentially free.
Migrating existing services to use SimpleLogin aliases: this is the time-consuming part. Each service requires a settings change to update the contact email. Realistic to migrate 5 to 10 services per week without burnout. After 6 to 12 months you have most of your important services on aliases.
The payoff compounds over time. Year one provides modest benefit. Year three onwards, you have meaningfully reduced your exposure to email-related abuse.
A specific recommendation
For most readers of this site: SimpleLogin Premium at $30 per year, or get it bundled by upgrading to Proton Mail Plus or Proton Unlimited (both include SimpleLogin Premium).
For users who specifically want self-hosting: addy.io (formerly AnonAddy), self-hosted on a small VPS.
For Apple-only users: Apple Hide My Email (free with iCloud+) is sufficient if you stay within the Apple ecosystem.
For Mozilla-loyal users on a tight budget: Firefox Relay free tier is acceptable.
For DuckDuckGo browser users: DuckDuckGo Email Protection is free and adequate for casual use.
SimpleLogin | addy.io (formerly AnonAddy) | Firefox Relay
Related: Inside the data removal industry, The day I left Gmail