Woman at laptop beside Surfshark's alternative email interface showing ready-to-use generated email addresses

Alternative email addresses: email masking for privacy and security

Create an alternative email address that forwards messages to your primary inbox, helping protect you from spam, phishing, and unnecessary exposure when signing up online.

Create unique alternative emails for online accounts

Protect your primary inbox from unnecessary exposure

Easily manage your alternate email addresses whenever you need

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What is an alternative email?

An alternative email is a secondary email address you create to protect your primary email account.

Instead of entering your primary email address when signing up for newsletters, online shopping, or other services, you provide a masked alias. With email masking, any message sent to your alternate address is automatically forwarded directly to your primary inbox. The sender only ever sees the alias, keeping your personal email address private.

Why use an alternative email?

Protect your primary email from spam: enhance your spam filtering and keep promotional emails and newsletters separate from your personal communications;
Prevent data leak risks: if a website you signed up for suffers a data breach, hackers only get your masked alias, not your primary email address;
Maintain control: if an alternative email starts receiving unwanted spam or phishing attempts, you can simply pause it or create a new alias address, without changing your personal email account.

Hand holding a masquerade mask above an envelope labeled masked@email.com against a teal circular background

Keep your email private in 3 simple steps

Create an alternative email

Generate up to three unique email masks using Alternative ID.

Use it when signing up online

Provide your new alternative email whenever a website asks for your contact information.

Receive forwarded emails

Get emails to your primary inbox. Your personal address stays private, and you can delete or pause the alternative email anytime.

When to use an alternative email

Use an alternative email for:	Don’t use an alternative email for:
Online shopping: get discount codes and receipts without the endless promotional spam	Banking and finance: keep your main financial accounts tied to your secure, primary identity
Newsletters and marketing subscriptions: read what you want, pause the masked alias when you lose interest	Healthcare and government services: medical portals and tax services require official, verifiable contact info
Free trials and AI tools: test out new apps, platforms, and AI tools without subscribing to mailing lists and giving away personal data	Identity verification: use your primary email for password managers and secure logins
Community forums and creating new online accounts: protect yourself from scraping and public exposure	Professional or official correspondence: maintain credibility in job applications, business communications, or official documents

Alternative emails vs. email aliases vs. temporary emails

There are a few different ways to protect your inbox. Here is how the most common methods compare:

Email masking / alternative email

A dedicated email service that generates a fully functional, realistic-looking email address. It forwards mail to your primary inbox and can be turned off anytime.
Best for: ongoing accounts, shopping, and newsletters where you want to keep access but retain privacy.

Standard email alias

A variation of your current email (for example, yourname+shopping@gmail.com as a Gmail alternative). While it helps organize your inbox, it doesn’t mask your true identity, making it easy for spammers to figure out your real address, and, if it ends up in a data leak, the risk falls on your primary email, too.
Best for: basic inbox filtering.

Temporary email / burner email

A disposable inbox on a public website that deletes itself after a few minutes or hours.
Best for: a one-time verification code on a site you will never visit again.
Limitations: you will permanently lose access to the account once the inbox expires.

Why protect your primary inbox with an alternative email?

Minimize the impact of data leaks

Even if a website where you’ve used a masked email gets hacked, your primary email address — and any sensitive data associated with it — remains safe.

Stay in control of your data

Masked email addresses help you prevent unwanted data collection and cut off any company that sells your information.

Lower the risk of phishing attacks

Scammers can’t target an email address they don’t have. Keep your primary email off malicious spam lists.

Protect your identity

An alternate email makes it harder for someone to trace your online activities back to you, mitigating risks such as doxxing, profiling, email tracing, and unwanted attention.

Enhance anonymity

An alternative email allows you to participate freely in online discussions without revealing your personal information, keeping your identity private.

Reduce spam

Stop marketing junk from cluttering your main inbox. If a masked email starts attracting spam, you can simply disable or delete it.

Take control of your online identity with Alternative ID

Surfshark offers alternative emails as part of its broader identity protection tool — Alternative ID.

Surfshark’s Alternative ID simplifies your inbox management and helps lower your digital footprint.

Don’t choose between missing out on a great online discount and handing over your personal data — with Alternative ID, you can stay in control of where your personal information is shared.

✅ Alternative name, surname, and birth date

✅ Alternative home address

✅ Alternative email address

✅ Alternative number (paid add-on)

Alternative email is just one part of your digital security

Alternative email is designed to improve your privacy and boost security online. However, to stay truly safe, there’s a lot more cyber ground to cover. Thankfully, alternative email is just one element in Surfshark’s comprehensive cybersecurity suite — with a Surfshark One subscription, you also get a bundle of essential solutions and security tools:

VPN

Secure your online activity

Use Surfshark VPN to encrypt your data and mask your IP address for safe and private internet access.

ALERT

Get data leak alerts

Get notified by Alert if your personal information, including emails, passwords, credit cards, and IDs, is leaked.

ANTIVIRUS

Shield your devices

Keep your devices safe from viruses and malware with powerful, real-time Surfshark Antivirus protection.

EMAIL SCAM CHECKER

Stay ahead of phishing scams

Easily detect phishing emails in your primary Gmail inbox with Surfshark’s email scam checker.

Compare Surfshark’s plans

Surfshark Starter

Comes with a VPN & Alternative ID — essentials for your daily browsing.

VPN: surf safely online
Alternative ID: protect your identity
Clean Web: block ads & pop-ups

Surfshark One

Shields you with all-round security for your browsing, devices, and identity.

VPN: surf safely online
Alternative ID: protect your identity
Clean Web: block ads & pop-ups
Antivirus: armor your devices
Alert: monitor data leaks

Surfshark One+

Keeps your online activities & devices safe, with extra focus on identity protection.

VPN: surf safely online
Alternative ID: protect your identity
Clean Web: block ads & pop-ups
Antivirus: armor your devices
Alert: monitor data leaks
Incogni: reclaim your data

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Teshir Jennifer

@memesfordigital

All the VPNs you mentioned are good. But Surfshark is the one I recommend in person for the best overall.

1:08 PM · Jul 28, 2024

Morgan Leggett

@YouBettaLeggett

I’ve had SurfShark for years. It’s amazing.

12:28 AM · Aug 14, 2024

Eakan

@eakangk

Trialling out @surfshark’s IP rotation. It is doing it pretty well. Seamless in the background.

3:20 PM · Oct 26, 2024

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FAQ

What is an alternative email?

An alternative email is a substitute email address that you use in place of your primary one. It forwards incoming messages to your real inbox, allowing you to register and sign up for services without revealing your actual contact information.

What is a masked email, and how does email masking work?

Email masking is a privacy technology that hides your real email address. It acts as a proxy — receiving messages sent to your alternative email and forwarding them to you, ensuring unknown senders never see your true identity.

Is an alternative email the same as an email alias?

They are often used interchangeably, but there is a slight difference depending on the provider. A standard email alias (like Gmail’s “+ trick”) helps filter mail but doesn’t hide your real identity. A masked alternative email (like Surfshark’s Alternative ID) provides both forwarding capabilities and privacy.

How does email masking work?

When you enter your masked email on a website, the site sends its messages to a secure server. That server then instantly forwards the email to your primary inbox. The website’s servers and databases record only the masked address.

Is email masking worth using?

Yes, email masking is worth it, especially if you want to reduce spam, protect against phishing, and limit the damage of data breaches. It is one of the easiest ways to improve your daily digital hygiene.

When should I use my real email instead?

You should always use your primary email address for essential, secure services. This includes online banking, healthcare portals, government websites, travel bookings, and when you log into other important accounts.

What’s the difference between an email alias and a temporary email?

An alternative email alias is persistent — it forwards emails to you for as long as you want to keep it active, meaning you can maintain long-term accounts. A temporary (or burner) email deletes itself after a short period, meaning you will lose access to any account tied to it once the inbox expires.

Can I use an email alternative on mobile devices?

Yes. Top privacy-focused services offer dedicated mobile apps, making it easy to create masked emails on the go. Forwarded messages will arrive in your primary inbox as usual, working seamlessly across all popular email clients and mobile devices.

Alternative email addresses: email masking for privacy and security

What is an alternative email?

Why use an alternative email?

Keep your email private in 3 simple steps

Create an alternative email

Use it when signing up online

Receive forwarded emails

When to use an alternative email

Alternative emails vs. email aliases vs. temporary emails

Email masking / alternative email

Standard email alias

Temporary email / burner email

Why protect your primary inbox with an alternative email?

Minimize the impact of data leaks

Stay in control of your data

Lower the risk of phishing attacks

Protect your identity

Enhance anonymity

Reduce spam

Take control of your online identity with Alternative ID

Alternative email is just one part of your digital security

Secure your online activity

Get data leak alerts

Shield your devices

Stay ahead of phishing scams

Compare Surfshark’s plans

Surfshark Starter

Surfshark One

Surfshark One+

See why millions trust Surfshark

Surfshark supports the open internet

Put your privacy and security first

FAQ

What is an alternative email?

What is a masked email, and how does email masking work?

Is an alternative email the same as an email alias?

How does email masking work?

Is email masking worth using?

When should I use my real email instead?

What’s the difference between an email alias and a temporary email?

Can I use an email alternative on mobile devices?

Necessary

Analytical

Marketing

Necessary

Analytical

Marketing