How To Create An Anonymous Email Account

How to create an anonymous Email account

- Eric Griffith

Not long ago, the sharing economy seemed to take over. Privacy was dead, and no one cared. But that was pre-Snowden. Now, for some, the need to be truly anonymous is more important than ever. When you go to a service online and its first three choices for signup are to use existing Google, Facebook, or Twitter account credentials, though, it’s almost like a subtle background check. Services such as Google expect you to share a phone number or an older email address to sign up as well, so you’re not exactly hiding your tracks.

What do you do when you want to set up an email address that is completely secret and nameless, with no obvious connection to you whatsoever, without the the hassle of setting up your own servers?

This goes beyond just encrypting messages. Anyone can do that with Web based email such as Gmail by using a browser extension—Secure Mail by Streak, for example. For desktop email clients, GnuPG (Privacy Guard) or EnigMail is a must. Web-based ProtonMail promises end-to-end encryption with zero access to the data by the company behind it, plus it has apps for iOS and Android. But those don’t hide who sent the message.

Here are the services you can use to create a truly nameless, unidentifiable email address. Be sure to use your powers for good!

FIRST STEP: BROWSE ANONYMOUSLY

Your Web browser is tracking you. It’s that simple. Cookies and so-called unstoppable “super cookies” know where you’ve been and what you’ve done, and they’re willing to share. Sure, it’s mostly about making sure you see targeted ads, but that’s not much consolation for those looking to surf in private. Your browser’s incognito/private mode can only do so much—sites are still going to record your IP address, for example.