Stay Under the Radar: How to Send an Anonymous Email

pcmag.com:

How do you set up a secret, nameless email address that contains no obvious connection to you, without the hassle of setting up your own servers?

This goes beyond encryption. Anyone can do that with web-based email like Gmail by using a browser extension like Mailvelope(Opens in a new window). For desktop email clients, either GnuPG(Opens in a new window) (Privacy Guard) or EnigMail(Opens in a new window) is a must. Web-based ProtonMail promises end-to-end encryption with zero access to the data by the company behind it, plus it has apps for iOS and Android.

But those tools don't necessarily hide who sent the message. Secure email services will. Here are the services you should use to create that truly nameless, unidentifiable email address.

You can set up a relatively anonymous Gmail account, provided you don't give Google your real name, location, birthday, or anything else the search giant asks for when you sign up (and you best do that while surfing anonymously, naturally).

You will eventually have to provide Google some other identifying method of contact, such as a third-party email address or a phone number. You can use a burner or temporary phone number created with an app, or buy a pre-paid cell phone, and then fib thoroughly when asked for any personal info. (Just know that even the most "secure" burner has its limits when it comes to keeping you truly anonymous.)

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) strongly sugggests you use a different email provider from your personal account if you crave anonymity. That way, you're less likely to get complacent and make a mistake.

Note that you also should use an email service that supports secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption. That's the basic encryption used on a