JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Have you ever used a fake username when signing up for a new service online as a way to protect your privacy?
Consumer Reports found that it doesn’t do a lot to keep companies from tracking you.
Many big tech companies are sharing details about almost everything you do on the internet. That includes what you search, the websites you go to and the people you connect with online.
But how do they know who you are?
“One of the main ways that they do it is tying your identity together using your email address,” said Consumer Reports tech editor Thomas Germain.
If you want to limit that, Consumer Reports says you might want to try an alternative or fake email service.
“There are a number of these tools, and they all work a little bit differently. But basically, they give you an alternative email that isn’t tied to your real identity that you can plug in when you’re signing up on a new website,” said Germain.
Maybe you’ve seen “Sign in with Apple,” on some sites. It generates a random, unique email address for Apple users. Then, any email from that site can be forwarded to your regular inbox without companies ever knowing your real address. The upside: You get the email you need without being tracked.
The Firefox browser offers Firefox Relay. It allows users to create up to five fake email addresses free of charge or get unlimited ones for $0.99 a month.
“And then there are a number of temporary email services that give you an email inbox you can use, but then it self-destructs after about 10 minutes,” Germain added.
For most temporary email services, you don’t even have to create an account. Some popular services include: 10MinuteMail, Temp-Mail, Minute Inbox and EmailOnDeck.
When would something like this come in handy? Maybe when you’re asked for an email address to get an instant online discount.
The bonus to using any fake email address is that there will be less spam in your “real” inbox.
You may think that creating an extra Gmail or other email account will keep big tech from tracking you, but Consumer Reports warns if you’re using the same devices, companies will easily be able to identify you.