How to get private email without a phone number or real name

Your email address is the key to almost every other account you own. If someone gets into it, they can reset your passwords everywhere. It is also often linked to your real name and phone number. This guide shows how to set up an email address that is not tied to either.

What gives you away

• Your phone number. Many providers ask for it "for security". It links the account to you.
• Your real name in the account details.
• Your internet address, which is logged when you sign up and log in.
• The people you email, because they know who you are.

Choose a private email provider

Pick a provider that encrypts mail, is based in a country with strong privacy rules, and does not need a phone number to open a free account. Well-known choices are Proton Mail and Tuta (Tutanota). Others exist.

• Signup rules change. Some providers may ask for a CAPTCHA, a recovery email, a short waiting period for a new free account, or in some cases other checks. Read what the provider asks and choose another if it insists on a phone number you do not want to give.
• Use the provider's official website or app, checked as described in how to download apps safely.

Step 1: Prepare

1. Use a VPN or Tor so the provider does not log your home internet address. See how to use a VPN on GrapheneOS or how to use Tor.
2. Pick a name that is not your real name or a nickname you use elsewhere. For example "bluecedar4271", not "maria.garcia1990".
3. Open your password manager (KeePass guide) to save the new password.

Using Proton Mail: two helpful tricks

1. Use a second Proton account instead of a phone number. When Proton asks for a way to verify you or to recover the account, you can give it another Proton account that has no recovery method set (no phone, no recovery email). This keeps the chain free of your real details. Create that second account the same careful way, with a different name and a different password. Do not link either account to anything that identifies you.

2. Getting past the "human check" with a free Juvega address. Proton sometimes asks you to prove you are human by receiving a code. If you do not want to use a phone number or your own email, use a free, receive-only Juvega address. See how to use free Juvega email addresses for the full steps.

1. Log in to your Juvega account and open the Account page.
2. Create an address in the Free email addresses box and press Copy.
3. In Proton's human check choose the Email option and paste that address.
4. Press Open inbox on your Juvega Account page. The code appears at the top of the message. Copy it and type it into Proton.
5. You do not need that address again, so you can delete it.

Things to know about this trick:

• Juvega addresses only receive email, so they are for codes and links, never for anything that matters.
• Juvega can technically see mail that reaches its own addresses. Use them only for codes.
• Proton can change or block its checks at any time, and may refuse some domains. If the code never arrives, wait a minute, try another domain from the list, or try again later from another network.
• Read Proton's rules and obey the law where you live.

Step 2: Create the account

1. Open the provider's website and choose Create account (or Sign up).
2. Enter the new email name you chose.
3. Make a long password of four or more random words, and save it in your password manager.
4. Skip any optional boxes that ask for your phone number or real name.
5. If it offers a recovery phrase or code, write it down on paper and keep it safe. This is your way back in if you lose the password.
6. Finish any checks it asks for, then wait for the account to open.

Step 3: Switch on extra protection

1. Turn on two-factor authentication using an app, not SMS. See how to set up Aegis for 2FA.
2. Do not link a phone number even if the settings page suggests it.
3. Keep your recovery code offline.

Step 4: Use aliases to keep your life separate

An alias is a second email address that forwards to your main inbox. You can give a different alias to every website, so a leak at one site does not link to the others.

• Services such as SimpleLogin and addy.io make aliases. Some email providers include aliases too.
• Use an alias to sign up for shops and newsletters.
• If one alias gets spam, simply delete it.

Step 5: Good habits

• Never use your private email for anything linked to your real name such as banking or work. Keep it for private use only.
• Do not forward your private email to another account.
• Do not mix identities. Do not log in from the same device or network, one minute after another, to your real account and your private account.
• Log out and log in carefully. Do not leave the account open on shared computers.
• Check every link before you click it. Fake sign-in pages are common. Always open the provider yourself.

What email cannot hide

• The person you write to can share your message or your address.
• Normal email is not private from the receiving server. Messages between two users of the same private provider can be encrypted automatically, but messages to other providers may not be, unless you use PGP. See how to use OpenKeychain.
• Metadata such as who wrote to whom and when is usually still visible to the provider. For private chat, use an app like SimpleX. See how to use SimpleX Chat.

If something goes wrong

• I lost my password: use your recovery code. If you have none, it may be impossible to get back in. This is the price of privacy.
• The signup asks for a phone number: try another provider, or try again later from a different network.
• My mail is going to spam: this happens with new accounts. Ask people to mark it as "not spam" and add you to their contacts.