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We desperately need to overhaul how the average mail provider works. We need unique email addresses every time we sign up for an account that can then be disabl
by beeboop 4y ago
We desperately need to overhaul how the average mail provider works. We need unique email addresses every time we sign up for an account that can then be disabled. I do this with fastmail though it's a little annoying to spend 20 seconds to create a new alias every time. At last count I had something like 470 aliases. Probably at least 40 disabled ones after receiving emails I didn't opt in for, or I disabled immediately after the first use because I had no need for further communication with that organization.
- istjohn 4y ago1password has an integration now with Fastmail that automatically generates one-off email addresses for you when registering on a website.
- mttjj 4y agoDo you prefer not to use a catchall alias[1] to prevent someone from just sending mail to garbage12345@yourdomain or for some other reason? I also use unique addresses for every website account I have but with the catchall, I don’t need to spend the 20 seconds to create the alias. It’s just automatically there. I can’t think of any issues I’ve had by using the wildcard alias. [1]: https://www.fastmail.help/hc/en-us/articles/1500000277942-Catchall-Wildcard-aliases https://www.fastmail.help/hc/en-us/articles/1500000277942-Ca...
- timando 4y agoCan you disable an alias (i.e. drop all incoming mail to a particular address)?
- the_pwner224 4y agoYes. Everything "just works" and it's quite easy to add block rules in the Fastmail web interface. You initially set up the wildcard alias: for any email to *@example.com, route it to me@example.com Then you can add rules to drop emails to foo@example.com, bar@example.com, .... Those work independently from the wildcard.
- beeboop 4y agoi guess im very pedantic - i don't want to make a rule to delete a email. i want it to bounce and never see my inbox and have the sender see that it bounced.
- mttjj 4y agoFastmail has first-class support for exactly what you want. Settings > Users & Aliases > + New Alias > "Show advanced preferences". There's a checkbox that says "Disable - Reject (bounce) all mail sent to this address (disable the alias) Disable a specific address when you have a wildcard (catch-all) alias."
- beeboop 4y agothanks - i didn't realize i could make an alias after the fact and then disable. appreciate it!
- woodruffw 4y agoAutomated unique email addresses are a great idea, and I've been happy to see Apple make some positive moves in that direction. That being said: it's a technological step, another countermotion in a never ending arms race. I would like to see policy steps that erase this ridiculous battle entirely. I shouldn't need a giant pile of code to automate email addresses for me, because this kind of corporate behavior should be completely illegal and extremely risky (from a liability perspective) to begin with.
- lamontcg 4y agoI'd like to just ban all advertising that I didn't go looking for. Society would be a hell of a lot better if we weren't being constantly bombarded.
- MandieD 4y agoIf you have your own domain, Fastmail will let you set a wildcard rule and anyrandomthing@yourdomain.com will hit the mailbox, no further config necessary.