{"id":8026,"date":"2009-06-04T20:30:46","date_gmt":"2009-06-04T15:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=8026"},"modified":"2026-10-15T14:57:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T09:27:52","slug":"protect-email-online-from-spam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/protect-email-online-from-spam\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Protect Email from Spam When You Share It Online (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-8113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/no-spam.gif\" alt=\"No spam sign for protecting your email address online\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/>If you post your email address in forums, blogs or social media, spam bots can collect it and flood your inbox. This guide shows how to <strong>protect email from spam<\/strong> when you share it online, from protected links to email aliases that you can switch off at any time.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-67355\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/protect-email-from-spam-2026-1024x538.webp\" alt=\"How to protect email from spam when you share it online\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/protect-email-from-spam-2026-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/protect-email-from-spam-2026-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/protect-email-from-spam-2026-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/protect-email-from-spam-2026-768x403.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/protect-email-from-spam-2026.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Don&#8217;t post your real address as plain text. Share it through a protected link such as Scr.im, use a contact form on your own site, or give out an email alias from Firefox Relay, SimpleLogin or DuckDuckGo Email Protection. If an alias starts getting spam, turn it off without changing your real address.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af672cc29019\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6af672cc29019\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/protect-email-online-from-spam\/#Why_posting_your_email_address_attracts_spam\" >Why posting your email address attracts spam<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/protect-email-online-from-spam\/#Ways_to_protect_email_from_spam_online\" >Ways to protect email from spam online<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/protect-email-online-from-spam\/#1_Share_a_protected_link_with_Scrim\" >1. Share a protected link with Scr.im<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/protect-email-online-from-spam\/#2_Use_email_aliases_instead_of_your_real_address\" >2. Use email aliases instead of your real address<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/protect-email-online-from-spam\/#3_Use_a_contact_form_on_your_website\" >3. Use a contact form on your website<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/protect-email-online-from-spam\/#4_Obfuscate_the_address_if_you_must_show_it\" >4. Obfuscate the address if you must show it<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/protect-email-online-from-spam\/#5_Use_plus_addressing_to_track_leaks\" >5. Use plus addressing to track leaks<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/protect-email-online-from-spam\/#What_if_spam_is_already_arriving\" >What if spam is already arriving?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/protect-email-online-from-spam\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/protect-email-online-from-spam\/#Is_it_safe_to_post_my_email_address_on_social_media\" >Is it safe to post my email address on social media?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/protect-email-online-from-spam\/#What_is_an_email_alias\" >What is an email alias?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/protect-email-online-from-spam\/#Do_%E2%80%9Cname_at_domain_dot_com%E2%80%9D_tricks_still_work\" >Do &#8220;name at domain dot com&#8221; tricks still work?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/protect-email-online-from-spam\/#What_happened_to_the_other_tools_in_the_original_post\" >What happened to the other tools in the original post?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_posting_your_email_address_attracts_spam\"><\/span>Why posting your email address attracts spam<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Spam bots crawl web pages looking for anything that looks like name@example.com. Once your address lands on their lists, it gets shared and sold, and the spam rarely stops. The safest approach is to never show your real address as plain text that a bot can read.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ways_to_protect_email_from_spam_online\"><\/span>Ways to protect email from spam online<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Share_a_protected_link_with_Scrim\"><\/span>1. Share a protected link with Scr.im<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/scr.im\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Scr.im<\/a> turns your email address into a short link you can share on X, blogs, forums or anywhere else. To see the address, a visitor has to pass a simple humanity check that automated bots can&#8217;t pass. It&#8217;s still running in 2026.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8107\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/scrim.gif\" alt=\"Scr.im turns an email address into a protected short link\" width=\"300\" height=\"187\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Use_email_aliases_instead_of_your_real_address\"><\/span>2. Use email aliases instead of your real address<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>An alias forwards mail to your inbox without revealing your real address. If an alias gets spam, you simply disable it.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/relay.firefox.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Firefox Relay<\/a><\/strong> from Mozilla creates email masks that forward to your inbox.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/simplelogin.io\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SimpleLogin<\/a><\/strong> is an open-source alias service from Proton.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/duckduckgo.com\/email\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DuckDuckGo Email Protection<\/a><\/strong> gives you a free @duck.com address and also strips email trackers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For sign-ups you&#8217;ll only use once, see our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2005\/12\/yahoo-mail-plus-addressguard-disposable-emails\/\">getting a disposable email address<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Use_a_contact_form_on_your_website\"><\/span>3. Use a contact form on your website<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If you run a blog or site, a contact form lets readers reach you without your address ever appearing on the page. Add a spam filter or CAPTCHA to the form so bots can&#8217;t abuse it.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Obfuscate_the_address_if_you_must_show_it\"><\/span>4. Obfuscate the address if you must show it<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Write it in words, such as &#8220;name at example dot com&#8221;. It&#8217;s not perfect, but it stops the simplest bots.<\/li>\n<li>If your site uses <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cloudflare.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cloudflare<\/a>, its email address obfuscation feature can hide addresses on your pages from bots while showing them to visitors.<\/li>\n<li>Show the address as an image. Older text-to-image tools have closed, so create the image yourself in any graphics app.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Use_plus_addressing_to_track_leaks\"><\/span>5. Use plus addressing to track leaks<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Gmail and many other providers deliver mail sent to name+anything@ to your normal inbox. Use a different tag for each site, and you&#8217;ll see who leaked or sold your address. Then filter or block that tag.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_if_spam_is_already_arriving\"><\/span>What if spam is already arriving?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Mark messages as spam instead of just deleting them, so your provider&#8217;s filter learns.<\/li>\n<li>Never click links in suspicious emails. Our guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2010\/03\/fake-phishing-email\/\">how to spot a fake phishing email<\/a> shows the warning signs.<\/li>\n<li>Unsubscribe only from senders you recognise. For unknown senders, report as spam.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_it_safe_to_post_my_email_address_on_social_media\"><\/span>Is it safe to post my email address on social media?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It&#8217;s best not to post it as plain text. Use a protected link, an alias or your profile&#8217;s built-in contact options instead.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_an_email_alias\"><\/span>What is an email alias?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A separate address that forwards mail to your real inbox. You can turn it off any time without affecting your main account.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_%E2%80%9Cname_at_domain_dot_com%E2%80%9D_tricks_still_work\"><\/span>Do &#8220;name at domain dot com&#8221; tricks still work?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>They stop simple bots, but smarter scrapers can read them. Aliases and protected links give better protection.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_happened_to_the_other_tools_in_the_original_post\"><\/span>What happened to the other tools in the original post?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The Email Icon Generator, Emailcover and Hidetext services from 2009 no longer offer these tools, so we replaced them with current options.<\/p>\n<p><em>Originally written by guest author Venkat, writer of Techdows, a blog about web, technology, Windows tips and software reviews. Updated for 2026 by QuickOnlineTips.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you post your email address in forums, blogs or social media, spam bots can collect it and flood your&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":67355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[44],"class_list":["post-8026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","category-security","tag-guest-posts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8026"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67357,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8026\/revisions\/67357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}