There’s a lot to cover here. Any time someone mentions email privacy there are a few common services and practices that everyone seems to recommend. I will mention those here.

However I have a few unconventional methods I use that are easy to implement as well. First I will start with those.

Fake and Temporary Emails

Vanishing Emails

To start off I’d like to suggest if you don’t need to create an email for a service you are likely better off not doing so. However some things DO require an email. Maybe there are services or platforms you want to use but they require you to fill out an email to get in. This is where temporary/fake emails come into play.

I will let you in on a little secret, the temporary/fake email service I’ve used for years is Minute Inbox. There are dozens of services with similar functionality but I’ve found this one to be the best simply because most websites don’t recognize it’s domains as fake emails.

These types of services are great for one offs or unimportant logins. If a service sends you a verification email to confirm your account is real the email will appear in your inbox here, you can click the link and confirm the email. Minute Inbox and most other alternatives offer the ability to extend your session up to a month!

Email Aliases

For a more permanent solution there are too services that provide permanent email aliases: Simple Login, and Addy.io.

Both of these services are functionally the same. They allow you to create aliases for your real emails that you can use to mask your identity. Their free plans have restrictions on how many of these you can have but they are fairly generous. Another nice feature is you have the ability to simply disable an email address if you like.

These work great for service that might ask you to confirm your email from time to time to login.

Along these lines, Apple offers a hide my email service that performs a similar function. Likewise, ProtonMail includes a paid version of Simple Login built into their email interface. Skiff Mail has a similar feature also.

There is also the option of just creating more email aliases in your real email, however that is often not allowed or costs more per month.

Unsubscribe

When you receive marketing emails to your inbox, by US law they are required to give you the ability to unsubscribe from their mailing list.

I believe it is worth it to maintain your inbox by unsubscribed from unwanted marketing emails. Be wary of phishing links though.

Before you click that unsubscribe though let’s learn about what I call the Ultra-Unsubscribe

The “Ultra” Unsubscribe

When you click unsubscribe from a marketing email the company DOES remove you from there list usually. However, certain qualifications can be met that allows them to send emails to you again. This is where the ultra-unsubscribe comes from.

My assumption here is that these companies maintain a database of your email, if you update your email it either replaces the email they have on file or archives it in favor of the more current email you input.

So what I suggest is giving them a bogus email, then unsubscribe. This way even if they try to contact you again the email will bounce. If it’s for a service you’ve signed up for but no longer want or use, then login, change your email, unsubscribe, and disable or delete your account. The last email they have on file will be the bogus email.

If it’s for a marketing email for something you’ve never used, you can either create an account using your email address you sent the mail to or sometimes you can click the unsubscribe and update your email address there.

Then delete your account. This has worked well for me for many years.

Use Reputable Email Providers

At this point it’s probably obvious which emails crawl and sell your information and which don’t. For example Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Outlook, etc are bad. They provide a free service to collect data for marketing purposes.

As a general rule, the old saying is correct, “If you aren’t paying for it, then you are the product”. However there are some exceptions. This list is not exhaustive.

My top picks for both free and paid email would be Proton Mail, Tuta, and Skiff. All three of these offer free tiers, have encrypted emails, and do not sell your data.

Disroot and RiseUp offer free email services that are private, however I do not believe disroot is encrypted, but RiseUp is. They also seem to have a waiting list to join.

Generally I would not expect paid email services to sell your info, but if your data is encrypted there’s no guarantee your data isn’t being sold and if the vendor gets compromised then nothing is stopping the hacker from getting at your data.

Conclusion

That’s all, keeping your email private and free from marketers is really more about planning and maintenance