1Password can now randomly generate email addresses for logins

Since 2019, Sign in with Apple has allowed iPhone and Mac users to protect their privacy by allowing them to generate random email addresses when they need to access a new website, service or app. It’s one of those small features that can have an outsized impact, and now something similar is coming to 1Password.

The company has partnered with email host Fastmail to introduce a feature called Masked Email. Like its Apple counterpart, the tool allows you to create unique email addresses for your logins. You can create the aliases directly within the 1Password app, which means you can access the tool on all platforms where the password manager is available.

"Reliance on technology has grown substantially, especially over the last year, and so has our susceptibility to data breaches and spam," 1Password CEO Jeff Shiner told Engadget in an email interview. "For any streaming services, newsletters, or other online accounts that people have signed up for, Masked Email makes it possible for them to use email aliases to help keep their online identities private on any platform, but still manage them from a primary email inbox. And if they start receiving unwanted emails, it’s also a clear way for people to identify which of those services have shared, leaked or sold their email address."

Just how much the ability to hide your email can do to help safeguard your online privacy can’t be overstated. The vast majority of privacy breaches start with phishing emails. You’re far less likely to click on a suspicious link or inadvertently share your personal information if you don’t get one of those messages in the first place.