---
title: "DuckDuckGo email protection"
url: https://perrotta.dev/2025/02/duckduckgo-email-protection/
last_updated: 2026-01-03
---


One of my best discoveries this year: [DuckDuckGo email
protection](https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/email-protection/):

> DuckDuckGo Email Protection is a free email forwarding service that removes
> multiple types of hidden email trackers and lets you create multiple unique
> private email addresses on the fly. Email Protection works with your current
> email account – no need to change providers or juggle multiple inboxes.

[Previously]({{< ref "2022-01-26-throwaway-disposable-accounts-for-ephemeral-use-cases"
>}}): https://10minutemail.com, https://dispostable.com, etc.

DuckDuckGo is (IMHO) better. Why?

- First of all, you can create a memorable and fixed email, which acts as an
  entrypoint. For example, `foo@duck.com`. In principle you could keep using
  this email for all new services, especially when in a hurry. Emails delivered
  there get redirected to a forwarding email of your choice. Thus this
  integrates with your existing setup, and there's no need to bypass CAPTCHAs
  just for the sake of reading emails, and you get to optionally keep them
  archived should you want to.
- The added value comes from throwaway, disposable emails though: DuckDuckGo
  allows you to generate one-off emails in the form
  `word1-word2-word3@duck.com`. You can create as many of these as you want,
  with a single click. These also get redirected to the previously specified
  forwarding email address.
- The emails are scrubbed so to remove tracking and analytics. You get to know
  whether there were any trackers in the original email and, if yes, which ones
  were removed.
- You can disassociate these emails at any time. It's very easy to do so, by
  clicking a link that is embedded into each received email.
- `@duck.com` tends to be more reputable than other email services. Which means,
  chances are, it is less likely to be blocked. I ran into roadblocks many times
  when trying to use `@dispostable.com` to sign up with throwaway accounts.
- It's completely free! A comparable service is [iCloud+ Hide My
  Email](https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/icloud/mm9d9012c9e8/icloud) by
  Apple, but it's not free. Also, the Duck emails are manageable from the web,
  whereas iCloud+ can only be managed from Apple devices (as far as I know).
- It integrates seamlessly with sign-up flows if you use its [Chrome
  extension](https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/desktop/chrome/).
  Similar to how password managers typically integrate with sign-up forms.
- The DuckDuckGo mobile app also supports it.

Ever since adopting this workflow I find it's much easier to sign up to try out
new services and/or websites, without having to use my personal email and
worrying whether it would be possible to delete my account later on.

Furthermore it's very easy to organize these emails in my client, as all I have
to do is match emails coming from `@duck.com`.

And I don't have to worry about "wasting" my personal domain email address space
with catch-all sign-ups (e.g. `foo at perrotta . dev`).

The only downside is that it's not possible to _send_ emails from these
addresses. Therefore, it's not an universal solution.

**Update(2025-05-10)**: Alternative: [Simple Login](https://simplelogin.io/) by Proton.