Google could soon let you hide your email with disposable addresses

You’ve probably noticed that every time you register on a website or application, your inbox quickly finds itself flooded with messages that you didn’t ask for. And, although your email has an anti-spam filter, these unwanted messages generally slip through the cracks to pollute your inbox. To avoid this, solutions exist, such as the possibility of using aliases.

As a reminder, this system offers nothing less than using “disposable” email addresses in place of your authentic email address. Messages sent by online services to these aliases are then automatically forwarded to your original email account. Essentially, if you receive too many unwanted emails from a given service, you can simply disable the alias associated with its use to stop it.

This well-known system already exists, at Apple, with the Hide my email address function included in the iCloud+ subscription, or at Mozilla with the Firefox Relay module integrated into Firefox. Obviously interested in this system, Google is reportedly developing a similar functionality for its Android users.

Google prepares a “shielded email” on Android

Android Authoritywho has made a habit of dissecting the code of Android applications, has just found several elements pointing in this direction in the code of the latest version of Google Play Services. Indeed, in the application code, several lines now refer to a function named “ Shielded Email ”, literally “Shielded email” in French.

By exploring a little of the code associated with this function currently in development, several clues seem to confirm that Google is working on its own alias generation solution. Indeed, several sentences, a priori menus or explanations which should be displayed in the interface associated with the function, leave no room for doubt. It says, for example, “Keep your email address private with email,” or “Use an email address created for this app.” This can protect you from online tracking and data breaches.”

By removing the code elements to keep only the descriptive elements and the different menu names, here is what comes out:

Adresses e-mail générées E-mail protégé Annuler Utiliser l'adresse Les e-mails sont transférés vers ^1. Pour contrôler le spam, vous pouvez désactiver le transfert à tout moment dans votre compte Google. En savoir plus sur la messagerie électronique protégée Gardez votre adresse e-mail privée avec la messagerie électronique protégée Utiliser la messagerie électronique protégée Utilisez une adresse e-mail créée pour cette application. Cela peut vous protéger du suivi en ligne et des violations de données Utilisez une adresse e-mail créée pour cette application. Les e-mails seront transférés à ^1 Utilisez une adresse e-mail protégée Réessayez Une erreur s'est produite. Veuillez signaler le problème à Erreur : Indicateur de progression

The system, which would be particularly useful when you need to register on an online platform, could thus be integrated directly into Android. If nothing is confirmed yet, it is very likely that the management of these aliases will then be done from the management page of your Google account. As this new function is currently under development, we will probably have to wait several more months for Google to officially unveil it and deploy it on Android smartphones.