With one address everywhere, it only takes one shop getting hacked or selling its list for your main address to get out. The spam arrives, and you can't tell where the leak came from or stop it.
A different address for each service
A disposable address (or alias) is a unique address created for a single use, such as [email protected], that forwards to your real inbox. You create one per site.
- You know who leaked it. If
[email protected]starts getting ads from elsewhere, you know who sold or lost your address. - You stop it in one click. Turn off the alias and the spam stops, without changing your main address or telling anyone.
Better than a "+tag"
The [email protected] trick helps with filtering, but it doesn't hide your real address (anyone can remove the +shop) and can't be turned off. A real alias is a separate address that you can delete.
Separate addresses make you harder to profile
When each service has its own address, advertisers can no longer link your accounts together. Your address stops being the key to building a profile of you.
Creating a disposable address takes ten seconds and can save you years of spam.