posted by VaelMail · 15 November 2026
Receive-Only Email Aliases Explained: What They Do
A receive-only alias delivers mail to your inbox but cannot send. How they work, when they help, and how they differ from forwarding aliases and temp mail.
An email alias is an extra address that delivers into a mailbox you already have. A receive-only alias adds one rule: it can receive, and it can never send. That small limit is what makes it safe to hand out freely.
How a receive-only alias works
You create an address such as shop@vael.pw. Anyone who writes to it reaches your VaelMail inbox, next to your main mail. Nobody can send from it, so nobody can impersonate it, and there is no reply path that could reveal your main address.
Why give each site its own
If a site leaks its customer list, the leaked address is the alias, not your main address.
If one starts sending spam, you can see which site sold or lost your address, and delete only that alias.
Sites cannot link your accounts by your address, because each has a different one.
Alias, forwarding alias and temp mail
These three are often confused.
A forwarding alias passes mail on to a mailbox you already have at another provider. Services such as SimpleLogin, addy.io and Firefox Relay work this way, and most let you reply from the alias on some plans. See VaelMail vs SimpleLogin.
A receive-only alias, as on VaelMail, delivers into a mailbox that VaelMail itself stores. The cost is that you cannot reply from it.
Temporary mail is a throwaway inbox that disappears. It is convenient once, but if you ever need a password reset, the inbox may be gone. See disposable email vs aliases.
When a receive-only alias is the right tool
Shopping, newsletters, trials and forums.
Sign-ups where you only need a verification code.
Any service you may want to walk away from.
When it is not
Services that must be able to reach you for years: use your main address.
Anything where you need to reply from that address: send from your main address, or use a forwarding service with reply support.
Anonymity from the service itself: an alias hides your address, not your IP address or the content of what you receive.
Limits on VaelMail
Free includes 3 custom and 50 random aliases, on @vael.pw by default or on @reca.st or @extradit.ing. Plus includes 50 custom and unlimited random aliases. Custom aliases have a name you choose. Random aliases are generated, so they reveal nothing about the site.
Getting started
Create an account. No phone number is needed.
Make an alias for the next site you sign up to.
Use the VaelMask extension to create aliases on sign-up forms and fill in verification codes.
Read more on the aliases feature page and in main address vs aliases.
