GoKawiilHave you ever received the dreadful notification that your go-to email address was exposed during a data breach? Me, too — but one browser touting itself as an alternative to Google Chrome just might have the solution.
Brave announced last Thursday that it has launched a new “email aliases” feature for its browser, allowing you to create several managed dummy email addresses that contain no personal information and will forward all relevant mail to your main email account.
There are multiple problems with sharing your email during a website sign-up. Aside from the obvious threat of bad actors trying to scrape your sensitive information during a data leak or the nuisance of your main account being targeted by repeated phishing scams, your email address can be used to track you across the web.
According to Brave, “ad tech companies like Google, Meta and LinkedIn publicly promote how businesses can upload email addresses to match customers against their own user profiles.” These companies have been known to trade information to find out what you buy and where you buy it, and continue to accumulate information about you. Brave writes that its email aliases were built to “plug this privacy hole.”
How to use Brave’s email aliases feature
The new email aliases feature isn’t automatically turned on, even if you’re already using Brave’s browser. There are a few easy steps you can follow to sign up for a free Brave account, start generating your five free dummy addresses and find your forwarded mail.
Navigate to the Brave login page (located at brave://settings/email-aliases) during your Brave desktop browsing session. Sign up and verify your main email address. While using the Brave browser, right-click on any website’s email address field in order to create and use a new email alias. To manage email aliases, navigate to the “autofill & passwords” page located within the Brave browser settings. All email alias mail will be forwarded to the email address used to sign up for the Brave account. Check the spam folder frequently to ensure no mail falls through the cracks.
But wait, doesn’t that mean Brave has my main email address?
Yes, you need to use your main email address to sign up for Brave (the company needs that address to forward you your mail). But having your main email in one place is better than having it spread all over the internet, caught up in hacks and potentially sold to data brokers.
Brave has also made several security assurances that make it seem less likely that your sensitive information is in jeopardy when using the email aliases service.
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