Account Aliases vs. Masked Aliases
Understanding two powerful ways to diversify your email identity for maximum privacy and organization
🔐 Two Distinct Types of Email Aliases
CodaMail offers two distinct types of email aliases, each with unique advantages. Understanding the differences between them will help you maximize your privacy and organizational capabilities.
Both types provide powerful ways to receive email without exposing your primary account address, but they serve different purposes in your overall email privacy strategy.
🆔 Account Aliases
Account aliases are essentially your account name at multiple domains. They're directly connected to your primary account identity and provide a way to use the same username across our entire network of 30+ domains.
Key Features:
- Your account name across domains - Access your account username at any or all of the 30+ domains we offer (e.g., youraccount@domain1.com, youraccount@domain2.com)
- Unlimited catch-all addresses - Automatically receive mail sent to any address using your account name as the subdomain (e.g., anything@youraccount.domain1.com)
- No counting against masked alias limits - These don't affect your limit of 10-15 masked aliases
- Easy domain switching - Enable or disable your account across any of our domains as needed
- Consistent identity - Maintain the same username while accessing different domain benefits
When to Use Account Aliases:
- When you want to use different domains but maintain a consistent identity
- When you need catch-all capabilities for a specific service (e.g., newsletters@youraccount.domain.com)
- When you want to quickly create multiple addresses without using your masked alias quota
- For professional communications where consistency is important
Important Note: Since account aliases contain your account name, they can be linked to your primary identity. Use masked aliases when complete separation is required.
🎭 Masked Aliases
Masked aliases function like completely separate email accounts that deliver to your inbox. They provide a higher level of identity separation and appear as completely independent email addresses.
Key Features:
- Custom root addresses - Create any name you choose at the domain level (e.g., shopping@domain.com, social@domain.com)
- Complete identity separation - No connection to your account name visible to recipients
- Double catch-all functionality - Each masked alias gets its own catch-all domain (e.g., anything@shopping.domain.com)
- Looks like a standard email address - Unlike random string aliases from other services, these appear as normal addresses
- Limited quantity - 10 concurrent masked aliases for Email Only and Internet Shield plans, 15 for Socks Plus plan
- Full flexibility - Create and delete as needed (up to your plan limit)
When to Use Masked Aliases:
- When you need complete separation from your main account identity
- For online shopping, social media, or other services where you want to maintain privacy
- When you want to track which service might have leaked your email address
- When you need to quickly shut down an address without affecting other communications
- For creating category-based email organization systems
Security Advantage: Masked aliases cannot be used to log in to your account, providing an extra layer of security against phishing and account compromise.
📋 Example Usage Scenarios
Scenario 1: Professional and Personal Separation
Jane has the account "jsmith" and wants to maintain separate professional and personal identities:
- Account Aliases: jsmith@domain.com for medical@jsmith.domain.com, jobs@jsmith.domain.com (formal, consistent identity)
- Account Aliases: jsmith@domain2.com for newsletter@jsmith.domain2.com, blog@jsmith.domain2.com (specialized, consistent identities)
Scenario 2: Complete Privacy with Catch-All
Sarah wants to separate her personal identity from her online accounts:
- Account Catch-All: newsletters@sarah.domain.com, service@sarah.domain.com (linked to her identity)
- Masked Alias Catch-All: social@domain.com for reddit@social.domain.com, x@social.domain.com (completely anonymous)
- Masked Alias Catch-All: stores@domain.com for amazon@stores.domain.com, bestbuy@stores.domain.com (shopping privacy)
⚖️ Detailed Comparison
| Feature | Account Aliases | Masked Aliases |
|---|---|---|
| Address Format | youraccount@domain.com | alias@domain.com |
| Catch-All | anything@youraccount.domain.com | anything@alias.domain.com |
| Quantity Limit | Unlimited across our domains | 10-15 concurrent (depending on plan) |
| Identity Separation | Partial (contains account name) | Complete (no link to account name) |
| Authentication | Cannot be used to log in | Cannot be used to log in |
| Creation/Deletion | Enable/disable domains at will | Create/delete individual aliases at will |
| Best Use Case | Consistent identity across domains | Complete privacy and anonymity |
⚙️ Setting Up Your Aliases
Account Aliases Setup:
- Log in to your CodaMail account
- Go to Settings → Account Aliases
- Check the boxes next to the domains you want to enable
- Save your changes
- Start using yourname@any-enabled-domain.com immediately
Masked Aliases Setup:
- Log in to your CodaMail account
- Go to Settings → Masked Aliases
- Enter your desired alias name in the text field
- Select a domain from the dropdown menu
- Click "Add" to create your new masked alias
- To delete, click the red X icon next to any existing masked alias
Pro Tip: Use a combination of both alias types for maximum flexibility. Account aliases for your everyday communications and masked aliases for sensitive or potentially temporary services.
🎯 Conclusion
Both account aliases and masked aliases offer powerful privacy and organization benefits. Account aliases extend your identity across multiple domains while maintaining consistency, while masked aliases create completely separate identities that deliver to your inbox with maximum privacy.
By understanding and utilizing both types of aliases, you can build a robust email privacy strategy that gives you complete control over your online communications. The key is knowing when to use each type based on your specific privacy and organizational needs.
For additional questions about aliases or any other CodaMail features, please contact our helpdesk.