With the ever-rising technology, it’s not easy to be entirely anonymous on the internet. However, that doesn’t mean that you really can’t be anonymous.
So, here you’re seated – on your mobile, or in front of your PC – wondering how you’re going to send that email anonymously. Perhaps, you have absolutely no idea where you should start.
Take a moment; you don’t have to worry – there are several free email service providers that will help you accomplish your business.
However, first, there are some things that you need to consider: what will you need from the email provider? How much storage space do you need? Are you after multiple email addresses?
But wait? Can’t you just go with solid encryption instead?
There’s no denying that strong encryption can be an ideal option, but then if you’re seeking to send anonymous emails in real, just encryption won’t be enough. The reason being, your email provider still will keep records of your name, location via your public IP address and can even see your email content and the recipients.
Therefore, to send and receive emails that are indeed private without revealing your identity, you need the best anonymous email service providers.
Before we jump into that, first things first – what’s an anonymous email?
Meaning of Anonymous email
Ideally, an anonymous email is an email that hides your identity as well as doesn’t contain any sort of personally identifiable data. Therefore, it means that if you send an anonymous email, it will be impossible to be traced back to you.
Moreover, the content of your email, the time it was sent, your IP address, and even the device name are all hidden securely from the recipient. All your messages are encrypted, and even if another party intercepts them, it will be difficult to access its content.
Is an Anonymous Email Worth It?
It’s now a world full of internet risks. There’s also a plethora of bad things happening in society that needs to be pointed out. Unfortunately, no one wants to point out such things due to the fear of what might happen to them.
Therefore, the best way to do it could be going incognito – via anonymous emails. For instance, some reasons that might compel one to want to receive and send anonymous emails include;
- One might want to point out on a government or an unethical company
- Activists fighting for human rights
- A journalist working on a sensitive story, such as civil war or riots
- Maybe you don’t want big brother (like Google) to monitor your tracks online
- Some governments can be oppressive enough to the extent that they monitor all emails and all internet activity
- You want all your personal activity to remain secure and private
The reasons that you need an anonymous email account could be unlimited. Besides, who doesn’t value privacy?
Fortunately, there are several anonymous email providers that you can consider to offer you the best email anonymity that you’re looking for.
Best Free Anonymous Email Providers
Various email providers will offer you the most secure email services. However, not each one of them will shield your identity. In fact, some only encrypt your email content and expose your identity. Therefore, before you settle on an email provider, ensure that you check whether the provider masks your IP address and if it requires you to provide personal information upon signing up. Moreover, you can check whether they offer some extra security features such as burner emails.
To help you make the right decision, here are some of the best free email accounts that you should consider for complete email anonymity.
ProtonMail
One of the most common email service providers that should be at the top of your list is ProtonMail. It offers security via end-to-end encryption mails. Also, it has a zero-knowledge policy, which means that no third party can see the content of your messages.
Interestingly, when you’re signing up with ProtonMail, it doesn’t ask you for any personally identifiable information. However, there’s an option to link your recovery email just in case you lost your password.
ProtonMail free accounts offer you an impressive 500MB storage space, and that you can send about 150 messages per day. In case you need extra storage space and features, you can upgrade to a paid service.
Paid Account features include;
- Custom domains
- Multiple email addresses
- Powerful filters
- Priority customer service
- Unlimited labels and folders
Zoho Mail
Zoho is one of the best providers that believe in solving most business problems. Moreover, it provides a professional email service that is ad-free, private, and secure.
Also, it’s bundled with several other excellent services that allow you to manage your tasks, calendar, and notes easily and even add additional users. This provider also enables you to retain emails for a particular number of days.
Furthermore, it enables comments, sharing, and tagging a file easily. You can easily manage files from a mobile device, making it an excellent email service provider.
Also, its mail hosting has been integrated with the Zoho CRM to help you manage your sales. Additionally, it supports email migration via IMAP and POP.
It offers up to 5GB of storage space with up to five user accounts. You’ll be able to send an email attachment that’s up to 25 MBs.
Paid account features include;
- Offline access
- Can host multiple domains
- Streams collaboration tool
- Shared email, calendars, and folders
- iOS and Android apps
- POP/IMAP access for all email clients
Tutanota
Based in Hanover, Germany, Tutanota believes in the right to privacy. The provider utilizes personal encryption standards to ensure that your entire inbox including your contact list is encrypted.
It offers end-to-end encryption between its users, but also you can be able to send encrypted emails even to non-users. All that’s required is a pre-shared password that will be used to decrypt the messages.
Also, during sign-up, you’re not asked to provide any personal information. Once you register for the free plan, you’ll get up to 1GB of storage space.
Interestingly, it masks your IP address from the emails, meaning even if someone manages to get hold of your messages, it’s impossible to locate you. Moreover, its software is open-source, which means that anyone interested can look at its code for confirmation of its security.
Tutanota paid account features;
- Inbox rules
- Multiple custom domains
- Email support
- Unlimited search
- Multiple calendars
- Up to five email aliases
- Offline notifications
Guerilla Mail
Guerilla Mail is an excellent encrypted email provider with free as well as a disposable email address for sending and receiving anonymous emails. Interestingly, you can create your own email address with this service or utilize their “scramble address” section to come up with a randomized address.
Also, you’re not required to provide any personal information during signing up. They also have an impressive self-timing messages feature, meaning any messages received will last for an hour – an extra protection function against breaches.
Gmail
Google’s Gmail is another free email service that goes without saying that it ranks among the most used providers. Interestingly, it’s accessible from almost any device and will let you chat and join your next meeting just from your inbox.
It offers up to 15 GB of storage space that’s shared between Drive, Gmail, and Photos. Also, it has a smart compose that helps you write as well as respond to emails faster.
Moreover, it’s very easy to view attachments as well as snooze messages without even opening the email. You can easily schedule your messages for later delivery.
It features an undo option that helps to restrict emails shortly after they’re sent. You’ll also be able to receive nudges that you can follow up or simply respond to email.
Paid account features include;
- Shared calendars
- Custom business email
- Chat team messaging
- Additional storage
- Ad-free interface
One-Way Anonymous Email Accounts
Sometimes you might need to only send anonymous emails without receiving a response. Therefore, you need a one-way anonymous email account in such scenarios, such as CyberAtlantis, AnonymouseMail, W3 Anonymous Remailer, or 5ymail.
On the other hand, you might need to receive emails only. If so, the best anonymous email service account you can consider is Trash Mail – arguably the best inbox-only email service provider. It’s untraceable and offers users up to 25 free disposable emails from around 16 various domains. Furthermore, it filters through rejecting spam, meaning you’ll only get messages that you want while you keep your address anonymous.
Moreover, TrashMail has Firefox and Google Chrome extensions, meaning you won’t have to visit the site to the free email services.
Additionally, there’s an option in case you don’t want to leave Gmail, although you still want to send your anonymous emails. In that case, all you have to do is to create a Gmail account but with fake information (Google will still require a phone number for verification of the account).
With a fake account, you can easily set up PGP encryption to ensure that no one can snoop on your messages. Unfortunately, even with that (PGP encryption), still, your IP address and location can be traced. However, there’s good news; you can use the best VPN to hide your IP address.
A VPN for Protection
The best way to mask your IP address is to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that helps to hide everything online. A VPN encrypts all your online traffic as well as data. Therefore, it’s a no-brainer to consider a VPN when you’re looking to be anonymous online.
Perhaps, if you might need a recommendation of the best VPN to use, consider using ExpressVPN, PirvateInternetAccess, or PrivateVPN.
Interesting Related Article: “How can a VPN help to protect your business?“