Google’s protected email feature can help you hide your email address

According to a report, Google is working on a new feature that could protect a user’s privacy while using apps that ask for their email address. Sequences of code discovered in one of the company’s applications reveal that a feature called Shielded Email is currently in development that will allow users to share email address “aliases” when signing up for apps or newsletters. Apple already offers a similar feature on its devices, called Hide My Email, for iCloud+ subscribers.

Shielded Email feature can provide email aliases with forwarding support

Android Authority and AssemblyDebug spotted a new feature while performing a teardown of the Google Play Services version 24.45.33 APK, called Shielded Email. Several code sequences discovered by the publication give us an idea about the alleged feature and how it could work if it is eventually rolled out by the company.

According to the report, the Shielded Email feature allows users to keep their email address private by generating an email alias when an application asks a user to provide their email address. One of the strings also suggests why the feature could come in handy – by protecting them from “online tracking and data breaches”.

It also appears that these email aliases can forward emails to a user’s real inbox, which could provide a buffer for services that send spam emails. It is currently unclear whether users can generate multiple protected email addresses (or aliases).

According to the publication, Google could integrate the Shielded Email feature with the Autofill functionality on Android smartphones. A screenshot of the Autofill Settings section shows a new icon that displays an email with a blue tag and the Google logo.

It’s worth noting that Google’s rival Apple already offers a similar feature called Hide My Email. Available to iCloud+ subscribers, this feature allows users to generate email aliases directly instead of sharing their real email address with an application or website. Emails sent to these aliases are also forwarded to the user’s actual email inbox.

It’s unclear if (and when) Google will roll out the new protected email feature to users. Other details, such as availability and pricing (or whether it will be limited to Google One customers), are also currently unknown. but we can expect to learn more about the feature and how it works in the coming weeks or months.