For years, 10MinuteMail.com has been a go-to service for anyone who wants a temporary burner email address to avoid spam. However, it seems that Gmail might soon offer a built-in alternative with a new feature called “Shielded Email.” A teardown of the Gmail Android APK by Android Authority reveals that Google is working on a tool that could make services like 10MinuteMail obsolete.
The Shielded Email feature would allow users to create disposable email addresses directly within Gmail, with these addresses forwarding messages to a real inbox temporarily. The beauty of the feature lies in its flexibility: you can discard the temporary address whenever you want, disabling the forwarding of messages. This approach would help users protect their privacy from online tracking and potential data breaches when signing up for online services.
Although the feature isn’t yet functional, some visual elements were uncovered during the teardown, hinting that it’s in active development. If it gets rolled out, Shielded Email could make life much easier for Gmail’s 1.8 billion active users by providing a seamless way to manage disposable addresses.
That said, Google’s track record with new features is less than stellar, as they often delay or abandon promising tools before they reach users. Despite this, the prospect of a built-in disposable email service is exciting, and many privacy-conscious users (myself included) are hoping this feature comes sooner rather than later.