Free Email Accounts for Email Anonymity

Send anonymous messages to protect your privacy

Man reading email on laptop with cookies and coffee
Rawpixel / Unsplash
by Heinz Tschabitscher
An independent writer who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated February 12, 2019

Learn how to find free email accounts and send a truly anonymous email to protect your privacy.

Prank, fake, or threatening email messages can be considered fraud and unlawful. If your message is commercial, then it is spam, and there are a bevy of federal laws, such as the CAN-SPAM Act, that preclude nonsolicited messaging and the distribution of obscene content.

Free Email Accounts 

Finding a free email account is no problem. There are plenty of them. They are secure (some more so than others), but you enter personal details during the sign-up process, possibly including an additional email address that can be traced to you. The provider of the free email account can identify you.

8 Free Email Accounts That Provide Anonymity

Free email service providers that provide anonymity aren't household names, but they are out there if you know where to look.

  • TorGuard offers both free and paid email accounts that provide anonymity with no ads or marketing. The free version gives you 10MB of offshore storage, end-to-end security using SSL encryption, and G/PGP encryption.

  • GuerillaMail provides a free, disposable, self-destructing, temporary email address. No personal data is required. Use it once or until you see spam and then torch it. If you are on an Android mobile device, you can use the Guerrilla Mail app.

    Screenshot of Guerrilla Mail
    Tricia Goss

  • 5yMail is another free service that lets you send email anonymously. The free service includes an advertisement at the bottom and email can be sent to only one recipient at a time. If you want a reply to your email or to attach files to emails sent to multiple users, you need to upgrade to 5yMail's paid service.

  • CyberAtlantis sends your email anonymously, stripping off the IP address, so the recipient doesn't know who sent it. The site warns against using its service for abuses such as stalking, harassment, and death threats, but encourages its use by whistle-blowers, human right activists, and government persecuted individuals.

    Screenshot of Cyber Atlantis
    Tricia Goss

  • Anonymouse is free and lets you send an email without entering any personal information at all. That doesn't mean you can send anything you want, so be aware of the legal ramifications before you send an email that may not be legal.

    Screenshot of Anonymouse.org
    Tricia Goss

  • W-3 Anonymous Remailer provides email fields for only the receiver’s email address, subject, and message. It is difficult to locate any more information about the service, which, considering its purpose, is probably a good thing.

  • Send Email is free and all you have to do is enter who you want to send the email to, the subject line, and the message.

    Screenshot of Send Email
    Tricia Goss

  • Send Anonymous Email has a plain interface to enter the receiver’s address, subject and message. No other details are required. The site warns if you send death threats, abuse, slander, or anything illegal, it will publish your IP address and block you from the site.

Most of these services have a disclaimer of some kind that warns against using the service for any illegal activities.

Although you don't provide any of your personal information, the ESPs may record the IP address you use to access their sites, which could lead to you, particularly if you use a static IP address.

One way minimize this risk to your anonymity is to use the service from a dynamic IP address or — preferably — a public IP address.

If you want to send an email in a truly anonymous manner, you can send it through a chain of remailers that remove all traces that can lead to you. This is a reliable and secure but tedious process.