How to Send An Anonymous Email

This wikiHow teaches you how to send an email without revealing your identity by linking back to your actual email address or name. The easiest way to do this is by using free online services—such as Guerrilla Mail or Anonymousemail—though you can also use a disposable email account. If you instead want a more permanent solution that heavily encrypts your email without being connected to an existing account, ProtonMail is a good solution. Depending on what your needs are, you may also want to take a few steps to make sure your workspace is completely anonymous.[1] This will prevent other apps or your internet service provider from tracking you on your phone.

Method 1
Method 1 of 5:

Prepare Anonymous Workspace (Optional)

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    Consider your security needs. This method contains a few steps you can do to increase your level of anonymity online. If the stakes aren't too high, you can skip these steps just use an anonymous email service. However, if you need to obscure your IP address so you can't be tracked, you might want to consider using some of the following steps to create an anonymous workspace. The more of these steps you use, the more secure you will be.
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    Install TOR on a thumb drive. TOR is an anonymous internet browser that passes your internet connection through a series of network connections called nodes. This obscures your IP address. By default, TOR doesn't save any of your internet activity. It is free to download. For additional security, install TOR on a thumb drive that there are no traces of it on your computer. Using the following steps to download TOR to a thumb drive.
    • Insert a USB thumb drive.
    • Go to https://www.torproject.org/download/ in a web browser.
    • Click the Download button for the operating system you will be using to send emails from.
    • Open the Torbrowser install file.
    • Select your language and click Ok.
    • Click Browse.
    • Select your USB thumb drive and click Ok.
    • Click Install.
    • Click Finish.
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    Use public Wi-Fi. Your internet service provider can track your online activity. As can many government agencies. To avoid being tracked by your internet service provider, use public wi-fi, such as that which is available at a coffee shop or public library.
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    Use a VPN. A VPN routes your internet traffic through an external proxy connection, which hides your IP address and prevents your internet service provider from tracking you. However, the VPN may be able to track you. Make sure you subscribe to a VPN that does not keep logs. To ensure absolute anonymity, pay with a visa gift card or cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.
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    Use an anonymous operating system. If you're using Windows 10, macOS, Android, or iOS, you online activity may be tracked by other accounts you are logged into or advertising companies. To avoid being tracked by third-party apps, you can use an anonymous operating system. Many Linux distributions, such as Tails are designed to be completely anonymous. Tails can be installed on a thumb drive which you can use to boot any computer. All your activity is erased when you shut down Tails.[2]
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    Get a separate laptop for your anonymous activity. If it is absolutely critical that you keep your identity a secret, you may want to consider getting a separate laptop that you use for all your anonymous activity. Pay for it with cash and install an encrypted version of Linux, such as Tails, Discreet Llinux, or Qubes OS. If you must use Windows 10, be sure to disable any tracking features during the installation and do not use Cortana.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 5:

Using ProtonMail

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    Open a new Incognito window in your web browser. To open an Incognito window, click the icon with the three dots or lines in the upper-right corner. Then click New Incognito Window or New Private Window or something similar.
    • Note: If you use the TOR browser to sign up for a Protonmail account, you will need to provide your phone number to verify that you are human. However, this will not be linked to your account.
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    Enter https://protonmail.com/signup in your web Browser. This will open the ProtonMail sign-up website. Protonmail is the best option if you need a regular-use anonymous email address. It doesn't hide the actual email address, but it prevents the IP address from being tracked, and does not require you to provide any personal information when you sign up for it.
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    Click the FREE heading. It's near the top of the page.
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    Scroll down and click SELECT FREE PLAN. This option is near the bottom of the "FREE" section.
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    Enter a username for your email address in the "Choose username" text box. Be sure to choose a username which does not reflect your real name, personality, location, and so on.
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    Enter and re-enter a password. Use "Choose a password" and "Confirm password" text boxes, respectively to enter a password. It is recommended that you come up with a password that is strong, but which you can remember.
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    Enter a recovery email address in the "Recovery email" text box (optional). This is not recommended as any personal information you provide may be linked back to you.
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    Scroll down and click CREATE ACCOUNT. It's a violet button at the bottom of the page.
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    Verify your humanity. To do so:
    • Check the "Email" box and wait for the text field to change.
    • Re-check the "CAPTCHA" box.
    • Check the "I'm not a robot" box.
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    Click COMPLETE SETUP. It's a violet button at the bottom of the page. Doing so creates your ProtonMail account and opens the inbox.
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    Click the COMPOSE button. It's in the upper-left corner of the page this will start a new email
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    Enter the recipient's email address. Enter it in the "To" text box at the top of the New Message window.
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    Enter a subject in the "Subject" email address if desired. ProtonMail allows you to send an email without enter a subject line. If you want to add a subject, enter it in the "Subject" line.
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    Enter your message in the main email window. Type the contents of the email you wish to send. Be sure not to include any clues that could link back to your actual identity.
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    Click SEND. It's in the bottom-right corner of the email window.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 5:

Using Guerrilla Mail

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    Open TOR. TOR is an anonymous web browser that is free to download. If you have TOR installed on a USB thumb drive. Insert the USB drive into a free USB port. Open the "Tor Browser" and double-click Start Tor Browser.
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    Enter "https://www.guerrillamail.com/" into TORs address bar and press ↵ Enter. This will take you to Guerrilla Mail. Guerrilla Mail is useful if you only need to send one anonymous email with no responses. Any replies you get through Guerrilla Mail will be kept in the inbox for an hour before they are permanently deleted.
    • Since there is no username or password with Guerilla Mail, anyone who has the email address can monitor the inbox. If you need to give the email address to other people, click the Scramble Address box at the top. Give the scrambled email in the box next to the checkbox to people who need the email address.
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    Click the COMPOSE tab. It's at the top of the Guerrilla Mail page. Doing so brings up a new email form.
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    Enter the recipient's email address. In the "To" text box at the top of the form, type in the email address to which you want to send your anonymous email.
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    Enter a subject. Type the subject of your email into the "Subject" text field.
    • Emails with non-spammy subject lines are less likely to get marked as spam than are emails with no subject lines.[3]
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    Create your email. Type your email's content into the main email text field and format it as you please.
    • You can also add an attachment (e.g., a video) of up to 150 MB by clicking Choose file in the upper-right side of the form and then selecting a file from your computer.
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    Click Send. It's just below the COMPOSE tab in the upper-left side of the form.
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    Complete the reCAPTCHA test.. To do so, click the box that says "I'm not a robot" Then click the images that have the item listed at the top and click Next. Repeat as many times as needed.
    • You can remain on the Guerrilla Mail website to view any responses to your email, but the second you leave the site, you won't be able to see responses.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 5:

Using Anonymousemail

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    Open TOR. TOR is an anonymous web browser that is free to download. If you have TOR installed on a USB thumb drive. Insert the USB drive into a free USB port. Open the "Tor Browser" and double-click Start Tor Browser.
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    Enter https://anonymousemail.me/ in your web browser. Anonymousemail allows you to send an email from a made-up address.
    • It's worth noting that Anonymousemail doesn't have an inbox feature, so you won't be able to view replies to your email here. You can, however, add a real email address in the "Reply-to" text box if you want them to forward any replies to you.
    • Anonymousemail is completely free to use, but they have a premium version as well. This is ad-free and includes the ability to track when your email has been opened and add multiple attachments.
    • Anonymousemail did not work in the TOR browser during testing.
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    Add your recipient's email address. Type the address of the person to whom you want to send your email into the "To" text field. It's in the upper-right corner.
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    Enter a subject. Type the subject of your email into the "Subject" text field.
    • Emails with non-spammy subject lines are less likely to get marked as spam than are emails with no subject lines.
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    Create your email. Type your email's content into the main email text field and format it as you please.
    • You can also add an attachment (e.g., a video) of up to 2 MB by clicking Choose file and selecting a file from your computer.
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    Enter your name and a fake email address (premium only). Type a random name into the "Name" text field in the upper-left side of the page (e.g. Jane Doe), and any email address in the "From" text box (e.g. bananasarentfruit@fastfacts.com) into the "From" text box.
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    Scroll down and click Send email. It's a red button at the bottom of the page. Your email will be sent to your specified recipient under your random name and email address.
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    Complete the reCAPTCHA test.. To do so, click the box that says "I'm not a robot" Then click the images that have the item listed at the top and click Next. Repeat as many times as needed
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Method 5
Method 5 of 5:

Using Disposable Yahoo Email

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    Go to https://mail.yahoo.com/ in your computer's web browser. This will open your Yahoo inbox if you're logged in.
    • If you aren't logged in, enter your Yahoo email address and password before proceeding.
    • If you don't yet have a Yahoo Mail email address, you can create one for free.
    • Be aware that using a disposable Yahoo address will still be linked to your regular Yahoo account and the IP address can be traced. That means this is the least anonymous option. Only use this option if you're not too worried about privacy.
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    Click Settings. This option is in the upper-right corner of the page next to an icon that resembles a gear. A drop-down menu will appear.
    • If you're still using the old version of Yahoo, first click One click away from your upgraded Inbox in the lower-left side of the page.
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    Click More settings. It's near the bottom of the drop-down menu. This opens the Settings section of Yahoo Mail.
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    Click the Mailboxes tab. You'll find this on the left side of the page.
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    Click Add below "Disposable email address". It's in the drop-down section. This will open a form for new email information.
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    Enter an alternative email username and press ↵ Enter. You can choose any email username. Enter it below "Set Address". Type in something completely unrelated to you, your location, or any other information that can be linked back to you.
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    Enter a keyword. Enter any keyword to create a disposable email address after the username you entered.
    • You can also enter a Sending name and description, if you want.
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    Click Save. It's below all the fields with a This will create your email alias.
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    Send an email from your alias. Any response to an email sent from your Yahoo Mail alias will appear back in your Yahoo inbox, but your actual address will not be revealed:
    • Click Back to Inbox in the upper-left corner. .
    • Click Compose in the upper-left side.
    • Click your email address in the "From" text field.
    • Select your alias.
    • Enter an email address in the "To" field,
    • Add a subject to the "Subject" field if needed.
    • Enter your email's text/attachments.
    • Click Send at the bottom of the page.
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    What does VPN service mean?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    VPN means Virtual Private Network. It changes your IP so that it looks like you're located someplace else to anyone monitoring your internet use.
  • Question
    How does one find out whether a site has VPN?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    VPNs are weak security. One can trace down a VPN easily by using a name server lookup of the proxy's out-facing IP, which will come back to the VPN provider. VPNs also log their customer's IP addresses, and are not anonymous. However, most of them will lie about this. Tor, by contrast, is a "public" VPN of sorts, with encryption in place, in such a way that prevents the outbound facing servers from ever knowing your true IP.
  • Question
    I want to send an anonymous tip to a TV station. How can I do this?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Establish a temporary free email account (through Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc.) and send the email from there. You never have to use that account again.
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Warnings

  • Never use an anonymous email address to spam, harass, or threaten someone. Doing so is illegal, and will result in prosecution if you are caught.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
  • Using anonymous email to conduct illicit activities does not guarantee that you won't be caught.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
  • Finding out the IP address of an anonymous email is relatively easy. To prevent your IP address from being discovered, you'll need to use a VPN while sending anonymous email, or use ProtonMail.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
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References

  1. ↑ https://www.pcworld.com/article/3340824/how-to-send-anonymous-emails.html
  2. ↑ https://tails.boum.org/about/index.en.html
  3. ↑ https://sendgrid.com/blog/10-tips-to-keep-email-out-of-the-spam-folder/

About This Article

Travis Boylls
Written by:
Travis Boylls
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Travis Boylls. Travis Boylls is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Travis has experience writing technology-related articles, providing software customer service, and in graphic design. He specializes in Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux platforms. He studied graphic design at Pikes Peak Community College. This article has been viewed 1,079,159 times.
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Co-authors: 32
Updated: August 16, 2022
Views: 1,079,159
Categories: Email
Article SummaryX

1. Go to https://www.guerrillamail.com.
2. Click COMPOSE.
3. Enter the recipient's address.
4. Type the message and subject.
5. Click Send.
6. Check the "I'm not a robot" box.

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