The idea of email aliases for improved privacy is not new. Back in 2021, Apple introduced a similar feature called Hide My Email that allows iCloud+ subscribers to generate random burner email addresses. It can also be used to set up new ones in Safari, Mail, and Apple Pay wherever email addresses are required.

Google is introducing a new feature which should help protect you from spam emails - which is increasingly important as phishing scams prove to be a serious threat. Shielded Email works in a similar way to Apple’s Hide My Email and will create a one-time dummy alias address each time they need to sign up for a website or a service.

Google is developing 'Shielded Email' for Gmail to protect users from spam. This feature allows the creation of temporary email aliases that forward messages to the primary email, ensuring safer sign-ups for apps and reducing the risks associated with sharing personal email addresses.