How To Send An Anonymous Email
How To Send An Anonymous Email 101
One of the best things about the internet is that you can instantly send and receive messages anywhere in the world. A couple of hundred years ago, you would have to send a telegram to a local telegram office or send a mail by the pony express.
Needless to say, sending a message in 3 seconds sure beats having to wait weeks for your recipient to get the message…
However, email often comes with one key sacrifice- your personal security and anonymity. Simply put, most emails can be traced back to the original location where they were sent from.
This, in turn, can leak your personal location and details to the wrong people. For example, if you respond to a scammy email, the scammers could then see exactly where you’re located and use it to narrow down other secure information.
Or, that creepy stalker you’ve been trying to avoid can trace your IP and show up at your front door the next day. Either way, it’s not very cool.
Thankfully, there is a way to send and receive anonymous emails through the use of a VPN. In today’s post, we’ll show you exactly how emails are traced (in case you ever want to do your own snooping), a few methods that you can use to send anonymous emails, and how to set up your VPN so that your emails are sent with complete anonymity. Let’s dive in!
Can Emails Be Traced?
To be fair, the average Joe or Sally probably doesn’t know how to trace your email back. But then again, you’re probably not concerned about the average Joe or Sally… If they can’t trace your email, then they probably can’t hack your computer, stalk you, or show up at your front door.
However, for those who have a bit of minor technical expertise, tracking the IP address of an email is fairly simple and easy. Here’s how it’s done in Google Gmail, for example:
- Open your email and view the original header: Beside of the ‘Reply’ icon, you’ll see three dots. Click this and scroll down to select ‘View Original.’ This will allow you to view and copy the message HTML header into your clipboard and track the IP address.
- Copy the message header and paste it into an IP finding app: Now you can see the message header and paste it into an IP finding application such as https://www.whatismyip.com/email-header-analyzer/
- Track the IP address down to the original sender: This can then be pasted into your email IP tracker to view who originally sent the message and where exactly it was sent from.
Why Would Somebody Trace My Email?
As you can see, these steps are pretty simple for anybody to follow. Most phone-savvy 7-year-olds could do it if they really wanted, so what’s to stop a motivated, malicious hacker or stalker from tracking you down?
There are a number of different reasons why somebody would want to trace your email, such as:
- Marketing.
- Government tracking.
- Hacking.
- Private surveillance.
- … or just a jealous ex.
Either way, none of these sound too appealing to us!
3 Methods To Send Anonymous Emails
The best way to prevent a malicious party from tracing your IP address down through your email is to send an anonymous email. When an email is sent anonymously, your recipient will only be able to view a limited amount of data in the HTML header of the email. This won’t be enough data for IP tracking software to trace down the origin of the email, thus ensuring your security!
There are three primary methods that you can use to send an anonymous email. Each of these methods should be used in correlation with a VPN program that masks your IP address and securely re-routes your internet traffic through another country.
1) Create A New Email Address
One of the easiest and most common ways is to create a new email address using a standard email client like Google or Yahoo. These allow you to create completely new email addresses and require very limited information on you personally.
Just make sure that you don’t input your phone number, email address, or personal name when signing up for your new email!
2) Use A Temporary Send-Only Email Address
Otherwise known as “burner” emails, there are a number of temporary send-only email clients that allow you to send messages anonymously before the email address is automatically deleted. The disadvantage of these is that emails sent from these accounts almost always end up in the spam bin.
3) Use An Encrypted Email
There are a number of encrypted email clients that many business professionals use. These are generally safe and secure, but can still be tracked by a talented hacker. They’re also rather expensive and are generally part of paid software suites. Either way, you should still use a VPN client even if you’re using an encrypted email program.
How To Send A 100% Anonymous Email Using A VPN
Alright, so once you’ve figured out how you want to send your email, you’ll need to download and open a VPN service to ensure that your emails are 100% anonymous. Otherwise, there’s always the possibility that smart individuals will track you down and know your location. Here’s how to do it!
- Download A VPN Service: Step one is to find a VPN service that works with your device. If you’re on mobile, we recommend ExpressVPN. If you’re on a Mac or PC, then NordVPN is one of the top-rated VPN services on the market!
- Turn On Your VPN And Select Your Desired Network Location: Next, activate your VPN and select an anonymous location where you want your IP address routed through. This could be another country or just another region within your existing country.
- Create A New, Private Email Address: Now, with your VPN activated, go online and use one of the methods detailed above to create a new email address. Make sure that you don’t use ANY personal info (phone, backup email related to you, real name, address, etc.) while signing up for your new email. If possible, use a fake name or a random title.
- Send Your Anonymous Message: With your VPN still activated, compose your anonymous email and send it! The receiver will be able to view your email but won’t be able to trace exactly where it was sent from or who sent it.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, cybercrime is at an all-time high. There are clever, motivated, and incredibly resourceful hackers around the globe who would love the chance to trace down your IP address, obtain valuable personal information, and use it against you.
Having the ability to send encrypted, anonymous emails is a great resource, especially if you’re sending sensitive data or discussing private topics.
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