Google appears to be introducing a new feature to help users improve the privacy and security of their Gmail account.
The feature, titled Shielded Email, was first discovered in Google’s Autofill settings but has not yet gone live, according to Android Authority.
What is Shielded Email?
Similar to Apple’s Hide My Email, Shielded Email will give its 2 billion Gmail users the chance to create a unique one-off email address alias each time they need to sign up for a website or service.
Emails sent via the unique address are forwarded to the user’s primary account.
It means the user can send and receive emails without exposing their main email address.
The service will also allow the user to identify who has shared or sold their email address.
If an email comes through via the alias address from an unknown account, the user will know who shared it, because that address would have only been given out once.
Apple’s Hide My Email must be paid for via a iCloud+ paid subscription. It’s not yet known if Google’s Shielded Email will be free – it may require a paid Google One subscription or a subscription to another Google service.
It’s also not yet clear when Shielded Email will go live.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: I couldn’t stop taking photos of my children – until this Google alert
MORE: Google issues ‘severe’ Android alert – how to check if your device is affected
MORE: Mystery of blacked-out plane flying over wilderness on Google Earth
