Today I came across a non-technical group discussing masked email and email aliases. The folks in the group used the terms interchangeably. However, while they are very similar, they are, in fact, slightly different and serve different functions. Here are the minor differences:
Masked Email
- Easier and quicker to generate
- Typically randomly generated with unique identifiers
- Easiest to block incoming email, spam, and dispose
- Increased privacy and anonymity with a randomly generated address
Email Alias
- Generally used with your custom domain
- Less private if used with a custom domain
- Easy to migrate if you change providers
- Sends email to your actual email
- Can be used as a group email that sends to multiple email addresses
It's notable to mention that an email alias with some providers can be used to mask your actual email.
