Question How Many Email Addresses Should I Really Use for Optimal Privacy and Security?

[piquiteco]

I follow a similar email strategy to @Marko :) Here on MT, I have a dedicated email address that I registered on the forum, and I don’t use that email anywhere else. In Outlook, I have several email addresses/aliases, but only one that I created myself—and only I know what it is—which I use exclusively to log in to my Outlook account. Emails from banks and other important matters are split across services like Protonmail, Tutanota, Mailfence, Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo Mail,AOL and GMX. For newsletters, I use Proton aliases/SimpleLogin, @duck.com, Firefox Relay, and Addy. And for disposable stuff, I use temporary email addresses like those from AdGuard Temp Mail.

 

[Wrecker4923]

1. How many email addresses do you personally use, and what’s the purpose of each?
2. Do you recommend aliases vs. separate accounts, and why?
3. What’s the minimum setup that still provides strong privacy and security without becoming unmanageable?
4. Any tips on managing recovery emails and avoiding lockout risks?

1. One hidden email account that I actually use. Another is a forwarding account that serves as the "actual email" I give — in the past to everything, nowadays only to very specific things including financial accounts and email alias accounts. The third is a rarely used recovery account that has no further email or phone recovery options.
2. I like aliases because all the emails end up in a single account. I filter on the aliases, etc.
3. I don't find aliases burdensome, because my password managers keep track of them. I think the rarely used recovery account is important for security.
4. For any circular dependencies, I put the credentials (username, password, 2FA recovery codes) on a piece (or multiple pieces) of paper. Backups are critical. Security keys (Passkey, FIDO2 2FA) can be used for recovery in some situations too.

 

[Halp2001]

In my opinion, the key is balancing security with usability. Managing dozens of accounts isn’t sustainable, but relying on just one creates a dangerous single point of failure.
The sweet spot is 2 to 4 main addresses to compartmentalize risk—separating banking and government from everyday stuff—and using aliases or temp emails for the rest.
It’s not about hoarding inboxes; it’s about managing the blast radius with common sense. A few well-managed accounts give you strong security without turning email into a second job.