How to Send an Anonymous Email: The Ultimate Guide [2023]

Have you ever felt the need to send a completely anonymous email to anybody there can be plenty of legitimate reasons to do so and for that defining your privacy comfort level is also important? To prevent your spam folder from being jam-packed with junk messages you might want to use an anonymous email address. If you are looking forward to sending or receiving emails anonymously, luck is on your side because today’s guide will provide you with solutions regarding the same. 

Key takeaways

• Using anonymous emails can also be found in encrypted email services which encrypt not only your email services but also your contact list and inbox. 
• It is always advisable to use a trusted and reputable VPN along with a strict zero-logs policy since your privacy is dependent on it.
• ProtonMail is your go-to option if you regularly send anonymous emails and are in need of extra protection from encryption. 

Why would you need an untraceable email?

You will need different sorts of anonymity for different online actions and based on this action, secure networks and anonymous email addresses are available for those who are in need of them. In order to entirely hide your identity which includes your IP address, sender’s location, and online browsing history, therefore you will be required to send email from a VPN. 

• An anonymous email can be vital for shedding light on crime, corruption, fraud, and other violation for law, this happens when you are a whistleblower and you can put yourself at risk where can get fired or bullied or might even face legal action and in this case anonymity provides them the ultimate protection they require. 
• Corrupt institutions or autocratic governments often track journalists to keep them on a leash and anonymous email provide them with the cover they need to contact their sources and communicate their findings
• If you intend to avoid spam or being tracked where spammers harvest email addresses from certain websites and mailing lists and use them for bulk email marketing campaigns. There are several platforms or websites that often pop up while you are simply google surfing and you might sometimes log in with your email address which gives away valuable information about you to tech giants. Several companies like Facebook, Instagram, and even Google gather such information and further share it with other third parties to serve your targetted advertisements. 

How do anonymous email accounts work?

When an email is sent, it takes a digital journey over a network from one server to another and along the route from one sender to receiver, the contents of the email and the attachments if there are any become vulnerable to hackers and cyber threats but when this same email is encrypted, the contents are scrambled and are accessible only to the recipient who has encrypted it. 

Anonymous email accounts generally work by encrypting the contents of your email, subject line, and metadata and in some cases, they even hide your IP address. Whereas some free anonymous email account providers offer a zero-knowledge policy which indicates that you don’t have to provide any personal information of any sort that can be otherwise used to trace back to you. 

Can anonymous emails be tracked?

The only way to guarantee your email is safe and untraceable is to make use of a VPN along with a secure email platform. By creating a secure tunnel for all your internet traffic, a VPN works beyond just encrypting the contents of your email, it further encrypts the network and also hides your IP address. While using any VPN, you should always check the terms and conditions. There are many such services that may scan emails for signs of illegal activities or log your real IP address. 

If your main reason for using an anonymous email is to avoid being tracked online and getting caught up in a security breach, you can consider using a disposable email account for signing up to websites since these disposable email accounts self-destruct after a designated time and are really useful when you want to register an account for a particular website but don’t really want to share your personal information. 

When an email is sent, it takes a digital journey over a network from one server to another and along the route from one server to another receiver, the contents of the email and attachments if any, it automatically become vulnerable to hackers and threats but when this same email is encrypted the contents are scrambled and are accessible only to the recipient who has encrypted it. Anonymous email accounts generally work by encrypting the contents of your email, subject line, and metadata and in some cases, they even hide your IP address. Whereas some free anonymous email account providers offer a zero-knowledge policy which indicates that you don’t have to provide any personal information of any sort that can be otherwise used to trace back to you. 

4 Methods To Send Anonymous Emails

There are several ways to send anonymous emails and many third-party apps and websites that provide services on how to send an anonymous email. Wonder how these work? Apart from creating a new email account or using a VPN in most cases, third-party apps send your mail via encrypted tunnels which keeps your data safe while in transit. Let’s get into the solutions

Solution 1: Create a new email account

Want to send an anonymous email? Creating a new email account is advisable to not use any such information that could lead back to you. For this, you can choose a fake name and home address respectively and these services could still track your IP address which might reveal your identity. So you can choose a fake name, date of birth, and home address respectively, and think twice before providing your real phone number for the verification code. Therefore, besides making a new email account, you should also use Virtual Private Network (VPN) that can mask your original IP address.

Solution 2: Use a VPN

You should always use a VPN along with your new email account with the help of which you will be able to hide your IP address and virtual location with just a click since your IP address can be used to uncover your location or track your activities. This will also encrypt your online activity by routing your internet traffic through a remote server. Again, your ISP can also track your online activity and could also leak your personal information to unknown risky authorities. Some free VPNs can log your activity, share it and even sell it to third parties so you should be aware of how trustworthy your VPN is. 

Solution 3: ProtonMail

If you are in need of a two-way completely anonymous and secure e-mail service, then ProtonMail is a safe option since it has a history of offering secure email services and you can definitely rely on it. Based in Switzerland and protected by strict Swiss privacy laws, some of the distinct features provided by ProtonMail are as follows:

1. End-to-End encryption- without proper access to your ProtonMail account, nobody can have access to your messages.
2. Open-source cryptography- You can stay rest assured that there are no back doors available for anybody to access your emails since ProtonMail uses open-source cryptography.
3. Private user data- Even the system administrators at ProtonMailcan’t access your messages since ProtonMail’s encryption process uses an encryption key on your computer and they can’t even recover your account for you which is the only disadvantage of using ProtonMail. 

Solution 4: Burner Emails

Using a webmail account like Gmail to send an anonymous email is a very good option in this case. Burner emails let you receive and send emails without revealing your identity and they usually expire after a certain period of time they even permit you to send an email without the hassle of creating a new account. But even when using a burner email, it is a safe option to turn on a VPN to hide your IP address and physical location respectively. Using AnonymousMail is highly recommended if you just need a temporary “send only” account to send emails that would be anonymous. 

And if you are in need of a temporary “receive only” inbox in order to avoid being crowded with spam, several anonymous email services are available and you can opt for any one of them. 

Is Gmail Secure?

In most cases, a free Gmail account is the most preferred and is almost secure enough that Gmail users are protected from potential hackers through TLS during data transfers and industry-standard 128-bit encryption. Google often uses your data to expose you to ad-tracking which is indicative of the fact that Gmail can be tracked, therefore, Gmail is not always the ideal solution for sending an anonymous email. so, when asked if is Gmail safe, it can be said both Yes and No. 

Final Thoughts

Sending an anonymous email can have various reasons supporting it and without being traced, downloading a VPN is of extreme importance. Some of the ways which you can follow to send an anonymous email are listed in the article and if you face any problem in the due process let me know in the comment section and I will assist you further. 

FAQs