Email is a common tool used for tasks requiring secrecy. By design, emails allow for recognizable two-way conversation. Email contains far more information that may be used to identify you than just the sender address. This might be ample to identify you and result in a number of issues. In this article, you will learn about How to send and receive anonymous emails.
What are anonymous emails?
An email that conceals the sender’s identity is considered anonymous. It is free of any technical or personal information that may be used to identify the source of the email. Protecting the sender’s privacy and ensuring confidentiality are the main objectives of such an email. But no email is completely anonymous.
How do anonymous emails work?
By leveraging secure email services and concealing personally identifiable information, an email may be made anonymous. Your name, the information you offered to open an email account, the email address itself, and your IP address are just examples of the personal information that might be used against you. An anonymous email provider will often hide and not record the IP address. These services frequently use end-to-end encryption to safeguard the emails’ content.
Sending an Anonymous Email
Use an Anonymous Email Service
In addition to providing end-to-end encryption, extra privacy options, and strong data security, anonymous and encrypted email providers operate in the same manner as standard email services. For those who are concerned about their privacy, here are a few anonymous email providers.
ProtonMail
ProtonMail allows users to send and receive encrypted emails with one other. Your emails are private and not accessible to anybody at ProtonMail, even courts. It is possible to encrypt emails you send to non-users with a password. ProtonMail securely shows emails’ graphics if you’re concerned about them monitoring you. You may also designate a time for your messages to expire. The program also includes a secure calendar.
Dmail
Dmail Network is an AI-driven decentralized communication platform designed to offer users, developers, and advertisers targeted marketing across various chains and dApps, as well as encrypted emails and unified alerts.A user-hosted decentralized mailbox solution that may be implemented across various chains is provided by Dmail DApp.
On the Dfinity blockchain, there is a limited edition set of 2,626 digital treasures called 3D Crystals. It was developed by “Dmail Network,” a decentralized mailbox DApp, as a way to reward early adopters, domain account owners, and engaged community members.
Lavabit
Lavabit is really dedicated to fulfilling its goal of offering the best anonymous email services to its consumers. Flow on Lavabit uses the strength and security of Lavabit to enhance your favorite email client. By encrypting the body, metadata, and transport layer of the communication, it offers automated, transparent, and secure end-to-end email. They will design a solution that satisfies the legal and commercial requirements of your sector, which includes banking, health care, and more. Everything is tailored to your requirements.
Startmail
StartMail is what Gmail would become if its developers paid more attention to privacy than ad placement. Startpage is one of the few search engines that respects users’ privacy and is operated by its parent firm.
StartMail is among the most private email providers, to continue with this example. You may build barriers to your inbox because it supports burner emails. You may easily delete such an email and make another, even if it shows up in a spam mailing list.The messages are locally encrypted by StartMail before being sent over HTTPS. Additionally, PGP support is available, but your contact will also need to have a compatible configuration. It will not function otherwise.
Create a burner account
- Although you can’t expect complete anonymity from popular email services like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Outlook, you may not still be anonymous by just taking off your name.
- This might require making a new account, which is not too difficult to do. Just make sure it’s not associated with any other accounts, and avoid using your true name.
- Use a niche service if the message you are delivering is really private and you want to protect your identity at all costs. If the email provider is required by law to do so, they may still be able to link the account to you and disclose your identity.
Hide your IP
Your IP may still remain a liability even if you wish to send an anonymous email. Employ a no-logs VPN or the Tor browser to conceal your IP address. By encrypting your connection and passing it via a server in between, a VPN will conceal your real IP address. Your connection will be routed over many network nodes using Tor, rendering you undetectable. Certain VPNs, such as NordVPN’s Onion over VPN, even combine both methods.
Remove the metadata from the files
If you are sharing a Word document, the files’ metadata may give it away. Your entire name and any private information that you choose not to reveal may be included. You should snap a screenshot and remove any EXIF data if all you want to transmit is papers and stay anonymous.
In addition, Document Inspector is a built-in tool for eliminating information on Windows. This will enable you to remove all content from a file that you do not wish to be shared and assist you in analyzing what you are including.
Create a new email account
Create a new email account with your preferred email service. Make sure you register with all bogus information. Using this approach to send and receive email anonymously is possible, but for really anonymous email, you’re better off using a VPN to mask your IP address.
Conclusion
If privacy is an issue for you while sending emails, you might want to think about changing your email practices by using tools like burner accounts and encrypted emails when sending critical information. Just keep in mind that, in the absence of a VPN, your ISP may still be able to connect your activities to your IP address, and you may need to remove any information from your emails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to send anonymous emails?
The act of sending anonymous emails is completely legal. E-mails used for illicit purposes, regardless of their anonymity, may nevertheless be deemed unlawful.
Does your IP address show in Gmail?
Your hostname and external IP address won’t be shown if you use Gmail as your webmail provider. On the other hand, if you send Gmail emails via SMTP using Thunderbird or an Outlook client, your IP address and hostname will be transmitted with the email. Remember that Gmail would be required to provide your IP address and location in the event of a police inquiry.
