10minutemail.com, a service that offers free temporary burner email addresses that you can use when signing up for spammy services, is one of my favorite online tools. But after years of sterling service, it might soon be rendered obsolete.
According to a teardown of the Android APK file for the Gmail app, performed by Android Authority, a new “Shielded Email” tool might let you do the same thing right from within Gmail. Several new strings of code refer to the Shielded Email feature, along with text descriptions that describe an integrated “disposable” address that will temporarily forward messages to your real email inbox.
“Use an email address created for this app. This can protect you from online tracking and data breaches,” says one text string. Shielded Email addresses can be discarded at any time and the forwarding will be disabled. Android Authority was even able to make the visual element show up for a screenshot, though it’s not actually functional yet.
Adding this feature to Android or Chrome (or both, please!) would be a huge boon to anyone who prefers to keep their real email addresses private. There are an estimated 1.8 billion active users of Gmail, making it by far the most used email service on the planet. Giving all of us an easy way to send spammers packing would be great.
Assuming it makes it to us, of course. Google has a nasty habit of sitting on big feature improvements like this for months, only to let them die off without ever seeing the light of an end user’s screen. I’m personally hoping this comes sooner rather than later.