[GH-ISSUE #608] [Feature Request] Limit Header Info Shown to Email Providers #439

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opened 2026-03-01 17:47:24 +03:00 by kerem · 3 comments

kerem commented

2026-03-01 17:47:24 +03:00

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Originally created by @86andyd on GitHub (Mar 4, 2024).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/anonaddy/anonaddy/issues/608

Discussed in https://github.com/anonaddy/anonaddy/discussions/595

^{Originally posted by 86andyd February 10, 2024}
Hi! I really love AnnonAddy and after experimenting with it for the last several days I would like to suggest a new feature:

For my use case, I want to receive emails to my AnnonAddy aliases, forward them in encrypted form to my email provider, sync with IMAP to Thunderbird and K-9, then decrypt there. This approach leaves the email provider knowing very little with the notable exception of the From:, To:, and Reply-To: fields.

My concern is that the email providers will share data with data brokers, and the websites where I have used aliases will also share their databases with the same data brokers, and eventually my alias strategy won't work because all of the alias's and my main email with the email provider will be correlated, and they will be able to connect all of the interests that I have been trying to keep separate through the use of aliases.

I think the following would be an awesome solution to this problem:

Add a setting on the Edit screen for each of the Recipients. Checking this setting will:

Change the From:, To:, and Reply-To: fields on every email forwarded to this Recipient to be the alias of your choice: (alias@username.anonaddy.com) (I will never share this alias with websites. Only the email provider will see it.)
Add the Reply-To field to the body of the email instead (which will be encrypted)
These Recipient settings should override Alias and Global settings.

Now Google, Yahoo, etc will only ever see forwarded encrypted emails coming from my main AnnonAddy account and they will never know that other aliases even exist. Separating the alias that receives emails from the alias that the email providers see would have a similar effect to a VPN so that AnnonAddy users can truly hide in the crowd and Big Tech won't know who is talking to who.

I feel that this feature would be a powerful addition to AnnonAddy and would hamper tracking in a big way! Thank you for considering this.

Originally created by @86andyd on GitHub (Mar 4, 2024). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/anonaddy/anonaddy/issues/608 ### Discussed in https://github.com/anonaddy/anonaddy/discussions/595 <div type='discussions-op-text'> <sup>Originally posted by **86andyd** February 10, 2024</sup> Hi! I really love AnnonAddy and after experimenting with it for the last several days I would like to suggest a new feature: For my use case, I want to receive emails to my AnnonAddy aliases, forward them in encrypted form to my email provider, sync with IMAP to Thunderbird and K-9, then decrypt there. This approach leaves the email provider knowing very little with the notable exception of the From:, To:, and Reply-To: fields. My concern is that the email providers will share data with data brokers, and the websites where I have used aliases will also share their databases with the same data brokers, and eventually my alias strategy won't work because all of the alias's and my main email with the email provider will be correlated, and they will be able to connect all of the interests that I have been trying to keep separate through the use of aliases. I think the following would be an awesome solution to this problem: - Add a setting on the Edit screen for each of the Recipients. Checking this setting will: 1. Change the From:, To:, and Reply-To: fields on every email forwarded to this Recipient to be the alias of your choice: (alias@username.anonaddy.com) (I will never share this alias with websites. Only the email provider will see it.) 2. Add the Reply-To field to the body of the email instead (which will be encrypted) 3. These Recipient settings should override Alias and Global settings. Now Google, Yahoo, etc will only ever see forwarded encrypted emails coming from my main AnnonAddy account and they will never know that other aliases even exist. Separating the alias that receives emails from the alias that the email providers see would have a similar effect to a VPN so that AnnonAddy users can truly hide in the crowd and Big Tech won't know who is talking to who. I feel that this feature would be a powerful addition to AnnonAddy and would hamper tracking in a big way! Thank you for considering this.</div>

kerem commented

2026-03-01 17:47:25 +03:00

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@86andyd commented on GitHub (Apr 15, 2024):

Bump - any thoughts on this?

@86andyd commented on GitHub (Apr 15, 2024): Bump - any thoughts on this?

kerem commented

2026-03-01 17:47:25 +03:00

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@willbrowningme commented on GitHub (Apr 19, 2024):

That is a good idea, I will have to do some testing when I get time to see if it will work as intended.

@willbrowningme commented on GitHub (Apr 19, 2024): That is a good idea, I will have to do some testing when I get time to see if it will work as intended.

kerem commented

2026-03-01 17:47:25 +03:00

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@86andyd commented on GitHub (Jan 19, 2026):

Hey @willbrowningme ! Hope you're doing well. I just wanted to revive this feature request if I could...

Any Idea if this could be included sometime? I think this feature would be the last step to make to complete the privacy effects of AnonAddy. Without making the headers private, ISP and email providers can easily de-anonymize what AnonAddy is doing.

@86andyd commented on GitHub (Jan 19, 2026): Hey @willbrowningme ! Hope you're doing well. I just wanted to revive this feature request if I could... Any Idea if this could be included sometime? I think this feature would be the last step to make to complete the privacy effects of AnonAddy. Without making the headers private, ISP and email providers can easily de-anonymize what AnonAddy is doing.