Google’s Shielded Email A Game Changer?
Online privacy is a current and continually growing concern. Google is upping its game with a proposed feature for Gmail: Disposable email addresses. Currently called “Shielded Email”. Its goal is to provide users with the temporary, burner email address that forwards messages directly to your primary inbox. Once the address that was used has served its purpose, users can discard it. This would stop any continuing unwanted communication while protecting your real email address.
Not A New Concept
Disposable email addresses are not a new concept. Some services like 10MinuteMail and Apple’s Hide My Email are already in use and have proven their value in safeguarding users from spam as well as data breaches. If your disposable email address is part of a hack, there is no direct link to you.
So Why Is Google’s Shielded Email Different?
Google has almost 2 billion active Gmail users. If implemented, Shielded Email has the potential to provide email protection to the masses. While it has not been confirmed if it will be a free or paid feature, Google has demonstrated a willingness to bring security to everyday users at no charge. It would certainly make Google the Gold Standard of email servers. Currently, Apple and 10MinuteMail are fee-based services.
How It Works
The disposable email proposed would generate a unique email address for each app or service you sign up for. It would make it much harder for hackers to exploit data leaks because each address is tied to a specific use case. Even if an address is compromised, it can be disabled without affecting your primary email account.
Summary
While a simple but very effective approach to provide you with increased security, there is no guarantee that Google will implement it. Google has promised features before that have never reached the public. The benefit this could provide Google and to their users sounds too good to pass. It would not only continue to make them the leading email provider but leave their competitors scrambling to follow suit. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it would arrive and be free.
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