Whether you’re a journalist on a stakeout, a netizen worried about data breaches or a casual user frustrated with a spam-filled inbox, an anonymous email account can be a worthwhile addition to your online privacy toolkit. It enables you to send emails without revealing your identity or, at least, makes it significantly harder to trace them back to you.
Don’t worry if this is your first foray into the world of anonymous email service. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know — including where to create an anonymous email account for free.
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What is an anonymous email, and why might you need it?
An anonymous email conceals the sender’s identity and contains no identifying information. To create an account, you don’t need to provide your name, phone number, or other personal details that can be traced back to you.
Additionally, some anonymous email providers also encrypt your emails, so everything from your email content and attachments to your IP address remains private. Even if intercepted, your data stays safe from prying eyes.
While using a secret email account may seem overkill when you’re just sharing silly memes with friends, it can be incredibly useful — and even necessary — in various situations:
- Data security: using an anonymous email account minimizes the risk of your information being compromised in case of a breach. This is particularly important when registering or entering your email address on unfamiliar or sketchy websites;
- Spam prevention: an anonymous email account for signups keeps your primary inbox free from junk and marketing messages when buying or selling online, signing up for services, or subscribing to promotional newsletters;
- Incognito whistleblowing: if you need to report unethical or illegal practices, an anonymous email account lets you do so without worrying about exposing your identity or facing retaliation;
- Increased communication security: in authoritarian countries with strict internet censorship, anonymous emails let you communicate more freely and reduce the risk of your email being monitored;
- Covert activism: a discreet email address makes organizing and communicating initiatives easier and safer, especially in regions with oppressive regimes;
- High-stakes investigation: journalists covering sensitive topics or high-risk investigations rely on anonymous emails for confidential communication with sources and contacts.
The best free anonymous email services
There are plenty of free anonymous email account providers out there, but not all of them will suit your needs. Let’s compare the top options to find the best fit for you:
Proton Mail
Proton Mail, an extremely popular anonymous email service, uses PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) for end-to-end encryption to ensure that only you and your intended recipients can see your emails. Even the provider can’t snoop on your messages and attachments. However, subject lines and recipient/sender email addresses aren’t end-to-end encrypted, so they could be accessed or disclosed if required by law.
Like other reputable providers, Proton Mail doesn’t require personally identifiable information during signup. However, you can add a recovery email for password retrieval purposes. Based in Switzerland, the provider also benefits from some of the world’s strictest privacy laws.
On the free plan, you can create up to 10 aliases to keep your primary email address under wraps and set emails to self-destruct after a set time. Additionally, you can send end-to-end encrypted messages to non-Proton Mail users by enabling its Password-protected Emails feature.
The plan comes with one email address, which you can use to send up to 150 messages per day and attachments up to 25 MB. You start with 500 MB of storage, which can be bumped up to 1 GB by completing four account setup tasks — sufficient for most casual users. For more storage and features, you can upgrade to a paid plan starting at €3.99/month.
Proton Mail is available across multiple platforms. The provider has apps for iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and Linux. You can also access your inbox directly from your browser.
Tuta Mail (previously Tutanota)
German-based Tuta is another well-known anonymous email service provider, right up there with Proton Mail. With Tuta, your data, including email bodies, attachments, contact lists, and your IP address, is always end-to-end encrypted and protected from prying eyes. Most importantly, unlike Proton Mail, even your subject lines are encrypted.
Whether you opt for a free untraceable email account with Tuta or a paid version, no personally identifiable information is collected during signup. All the plans also offer the same security features, which include 2FA (Two-factor Authentication), password-protected emails, and session handling.
Tuta’s Free plan comes with 1 GB storage from the get-go — double the standard 500 MB you start out with at many other free anonymous email account providers. Meanwhile, shelling out €3.00/month gets you 20 GB of storage, unlimited calendars, three custom email domains with unlimited email addresses, and 15 aliases. More options to scale are available.
Dedicated Tuta apps are available for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux. There’s also a web version if you prefer using a browser.
Guerrilla Mail
A veteran email provider, Guerrilla Mail lets you start using its services immediately without providing personal information or even signing up for an account. Simply visit its website, and you’ll be assigned a random email address to kick things off. Alternatively, you can choose your own address.
All emails received using Guerrilla Mail are temporary, lasting only for an hour in your inbox before automatically being deleted for enhanced privacy. This is especially useful if you only need the email address for one-time registrations or brief communications.
In terms of features, Guerrilla Mail is more sparse compared to providers like Proton Mail and Tuta. However, you do get basic spam filtering to keep your inbox clutter-free and a straightforward password manager. It’s ideal if you want a no-frills, utilitarian, anonymous email solution.
The same stripped-down approach is reflected in Guerrilla Mail’s user interface, which may appear outdated to users accustomed to sleek modern interfaces. That said, all essential functions for sending and receiving anonymous emails are well within reach.
One caveat with Guerrilla Mail is that, since it doesn’t require account registration, anyone with your Inbox ID can get into your inbox. So, be sure to use a random address or utilize the Scramble Address feature to safeguard your privacy.
Guerrilla Mail is available on browsers and Google Play for Android devices.
Mailfence
Mailfence is a Belgian-based anonymous email service popular for offering end-to-end encryption based on OpenPGP, one of the most widely used email encryption standards. With OpenPGP, only the intended recipients can view your emails. You also have the option to verify the authenticity of your emails by adding a digital signature.
To further protect your privacy, Mailfence strips your device’s IP address from all outgoing emails, making it harder for third parties to geo-map your location. During signup, you need to provide an email address to receive the activation code and recover your account. Still, you can always use a burner email or an alias to protect your primary account.
Compared to other free anonymous email account providers, Mailfence provides a wider range of security features. These include 2FA for an added layer of security, spam protection to filter out unsafe emails, and malware detection to protect your emails and attachments from cyberthreats.
Mailfence’s free plan includes 1 GB of storage — 500 MB for emails and 500 MB for documents. All plans come with task management features like calendars, contacts, and document storage.
Upgrading to the entry-level paid plan for $2.50/month gives you 10 aliases and 11 GB of storage (5 GB for emails and 6 GB for documents). Plus, customer support is available via email, which is a notable change from the free plan, where you can only seek help by consulting its knowledge base. You can pay using cryptocurrencies to keep your banking details private.
Mailfence is browser-based and has apps for iOS and Android.
Addy.io (formerly AnonAddy)
Addy.io doesn’t store any emails — instead, it provides a free and open-source anonymous email forwarding service. The provider operates using an alias system, where you can create multiple aliases for your actual email address, keeping the latter private and free from spam.
With Addy.io, its greatest appeal lies in its user-friendly features. Here are some highlights:
- Easy encryption: you can use your own GPG (GNU Privacy Guard) or OpenPGP public key for secure encryption. A simple toggle enables or disables encryption. When enabled, all forwarded messages — including email subjects — are encrypted with your public key. Only you can decrypt them with the corresponding private key;
- Quick alias creation: you can generate aliases in advance or create them on the fly as needed, such as when you’re signing up for a service and need to plug in an email address. Addy.io automatically creates the alias in your dashboard as soon as it receives the first email;
- Simple alias management: if an alias is compromised, you can quickly deactivate it with the flip of a switch in your dashboard.
The free plan should be sufficient for most casual users despite its limited bandwidth. It includes unlimited standard aliases, 10 shared domain aliases, and 10 MB monthly bandwidth. Meanwhile, paying a buck a month gets you a custom domain, an additional username, and 100 MB monthly bandwidth.
Addy.io extensions for browsers like Firefox, Chrome, Brave, and Vivaldi are available.
Differences between paid and free anonymous email services
Between the two, a paid anonymous email service almost always trumps a free one. Here’s a breakdown of how they differ:
Feature | Free anonymous email service | Paid anonymous email service |
|---|---|---|
Cost | Free | Monthly or annual fee, typically from under $5/month |
Storage | Limited, typically 500 MB to 1 GB | Plan-dependent, typically from 15 GB |
Attachment size | 25 MB | 25 MB |
Domain options | No custom domains | Custom domains |
Security | None or only basic encryption | Advanced encryption and modern protocols |
Spam protection | Basic filtering | Advanced spam filters with customization options |
Additional features | None or limited, typically only password-locked emails and limited aliases | Typically include advanced features such as unlimited aliases, unlimited email addresses, custom domains, automatic forwarding, email scheduling, autoresponder, personal calendars, and calendar sharing |
Privacy | Ad-supported, may collect data | No ads, user-friendly privacy policies |
User experience | Basic, possibly dated | User-friendly with a modern interface |
Support | Knowledge base, community-based, or limited availability | Professional customer support team via various channels |
Why should you consider Surfshark’s Alternative ID?
A separate paid or free anonymous email account might not be ideal if you prefer conventional email providers or simply wish to skip the hassle of managing yet another email account. In that case, Surfshark’s Alternative ID could be just what you need.
Alternative ID lets you generate a new email address and an online identity, complete with options to customize details such as first and last name, date of birth, address, and gender. You can use this new email and identity to sign up for new accounts or subscribe to newsletters.
All emails sent from these websites will then be forwarded to your actual inbox. This way, your primary email is not directly shared with the senders.
Alternative ID is included in all Surfshark plans. As an add-on, you can also try Alternative Number, which provides a phone number that you can use in place of your real one for online signups and listings. All calls to this number will be redirected to your phone and the SMS messages you receive will appear on your smartphone’s Surfshark app.
The bottom line — keep your primary email account private
Data privacy, spam management, and confidential communication are just some of the many reasons why you might need an anonymous email account to send and receive emails without revealing your identity. Fortunately, there are plenty of free anonymous email account services out there. It’s up to you to pick the one that best meets your needs.
For added privacy, use Surfshark’s Alternative ID, which is included in all Surfshark subscription plans. With it, you can avoid sharing personal information with questionable websites, ensure your real information isn’t exposed in case of data breaches, and reduce unwanted marketing emails.
FAQ
How do you send an anonymous email?
To send an anonymous email, you can use anonymous email services like Proton Mail or Tuta Mail. For enhanced privacy, consider additional precautions such as using a reliable VPN (Virtual Private Network) to mask your IP address, using a virtual phone number, and stripping metadata from all attached files.
Are anonymous emails illegal?
No, sending anonymous emails isn’t illegal in itself, but using them for unlawful activities can be. For instance, using anonymous emails to harass others or commit fraud is illegal.
What is the best anonymous email service?
The best anonymous email service depends on your needs and preferences. The most popular options on the market include Proton Mail for its strong PGP encryption, Tuta Mail for its end-to-end encryption and generous storage, and Guerrilla Mail for its disposable email addresses.
What is a burner email?
A burner email is a temporary email address meant to be disposed of after use. It helps to protect your personal information, minimize your digital footprint, and reduce spam. Common uses include service and free trial signups, one-time communications, and forum account registrations.
