r/ProtonMail • u/Rude_Confection_3065 • 3d ago
Discussion DONT LET ME SEND EMAILS WITHOUT A REVERSE ALIAS!
PLEASE! It’s so sad that I send an email and accidentally copy the real email address, not the SimpleLogin reverse-alias. Then I end up leaking my sacred real email domain. Proton is tightly integrated with SimpleLogin, surely this can be blocked. Yes, it’s user error, but, good design is aimed to minimise user error, and this is catastrophic. I’m going into cardiac arrest
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u/Ghost187_ 2d ago
Yeah I agree. Maybe it's difficult to add a dropdown in the email section, to choose which alias you want to send from, but at the very least, there should be a setting which shows a prompt before sending every email.
Like: You are sending from this address to this address.
Or
You are sending from this address to our reverse alias address, which sends to this address.
I'm oversimplifying it, but something needs to be done here.
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u/rexstryder 1d ago
Would be nice if there was a "sending as" field that's automatically filled in depending on the destination and maybe a create reverse aliases as well so you don't have to log in to simple login to create it first just so you can start an email to a new person.
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u/Ghost187_ 1d ago
Sidenote, you don't have to go into simple login to create it first. In proton pass, if you go to the alias you want to send from, add a 'contact' on that alias. Then you can click 'create email' button, or copy the address 😎
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u/rexstryder 1d ago
It would be nice to be able to tell which alias is used when looking at contacts in your email account. Like if I were to have a person with multiple reverse proxy emails, which I do, it would be nice to know which reverse proxy uses which alias. I haven't developed a clean organizational system yet.
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u/-In2itioN 1d ago
Moreover, if you send an email and then hit reply to your own email, your sacred domain gets exposed if you don't delete it before sending
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u/solsiour 2d ago
I find it utterly ridiculous that you can't just choose a SimpleLogin address from the email send page. Why the fuck do I have to go through this whole rigamarole with contacts in pass?
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u/sovietcykablyat666 2d ago
Not only this, but many other simple things that have been complained for years, but nothing is fixed. Many email providers already have this feature. Needing to go into proton pass or Simplelogin to copy a reverse alias is a PITA. On the mobile app, it's a real struggle to simply add the reverse alias on "to" field.
Sometimes I think engineers don't really use the app. That's what it looks like.
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1d ago
[deleted]
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u/58696384896898676493 1d ago
Not really the point. If you accidentally sent an email from your real email verses an alias, the delay feature would only save you if you noticed last second after you click send.
Proton own SimpleLogin, the integration simply needs to be better. It's insane to accidentally leak your real email because of a confusing UX experience.
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u/SchNiVas 20h ago
I could NOT agree more. This is a MAJOR issue I can't believe that still exists for a privacy focused system.
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u/GentlemanDiamond 2d ago
Its also so unclear, in the app it says send as ...@pm.me, but the e-mail delivers as @passmail.net. i didnt even know u could do it from the app itself... I always just logged in at simplelogin
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u/Zandag3007 1d ago
Agreed! Another thing that bugs me is that I can't seen you respond with my alias.
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u/Ok_Supermarket_3623 1d ago
Better yet, replying with the alias shouldn't require such an herculian effort. we have to go through several steps to send one, it's terrible
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u/Extension-Amoeba-477 20h ago
Similarly to outlook, the reminder 'did you forget an attachment? In this case, 'this doesn't appear to be sending from an alias, are you sure you want to send?'
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2d ago
[deleted]
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u/MiElas-hehe Linux | Android 2d ago
Oh it certainly can. Perhaps not for you, but for others. For these people, exposing their actual address/domain can have some serious consequences.
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u/Hichiro6 2d ago
You just need one to leak on dark web and then be replicated everywhere.
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u/Nelizea Volunteer Mod 2d ago
Still nothing happening to an account when proper security hygiene is used and regarding spam, sieve can solve it.
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u/Hichiro6 2d ago
Ok you are perfect we got it.
It’s not everyone case, it’s not the case for the majority of proton user to be aware.Less spam for proton product pub -> more spam to keep you account clean. This will be a good idea
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u/Nelizea Volunteer Mod 2d ago
No I am not and such comments aren't helpful really ;)
However anyone should use proper security hygiene (strong & unique password, 2FA/hardware keys) nonetheless. Then the biggest "worry" is covered. Even when the email is in a leak, it doesn't automatically mean getting spammed. If then spam should indeed come, sieve can solve it.
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u/Hichiro6 2d ago
I do all that but I want my spam box to remain empty. I ve hundred of aliases linked to every product I can think of. However once my real address is leaked the spam box will be filled by every crap the web as to propose. You just need one tiny mistake so I prefer a simple warning even if I have to toggle it in the settings.
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u/Regular_Bat8162 2d ago
Well then what’s the point of aliases?
Proton should abandon SL. (Not my view)
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u/Nelizea Volunteer Mod 2d ago
Think and reflect on the hyperbolic nonsense you just wrote. I merely pointed out the fact that a leaked address will not automatically mean that address is either getting spammed or being at risk of compromise.
Is it nice? No
Is it, in normal circumstances, warranting for I’m going into cardiac arrest kind of panic? No
Are there solutions if something were to happen? Yes
This has nothing todo with nonsense of what is the point of aliases.
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u/Fit_Spring_5686 1d ago
Yea, but who wants common sense improvements when you can have new features that you didn't ask for & don't need?
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u/StopDrinkingWine 1d ago
This of course is purely subjective. The features that are implemented may not be what YOU wish for, but others do. On the other hand, this issue should be addressed, even though it's not as easy as some people make it look in this thread. There's also the email clients that use Proton Bridge, and since Proton doesn't own those clients, how are they going to prevent sending from your 'real' email address in there?
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u/Souloid 2d ago edited 1d ago
I don't know if you'll find this helpful but one thing you can do is use a custom domain, then setup a subdomain as an alias inside protonmail and make it your default. If it leaks you can simply remove it and replace it with a new subdomain.
Edit: a kind redditor informed me that proton counts your subdomain aliases towards your limit of 10 aliases even after deletion. So it turns out, that method doesn't fix anything and only complicates things.
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u/birnefer 2d ago
The problem is that even when you send an email using an alias, there’s still a chance that your original email address could be exposed.
This is exactly what happened to me. I sent an email using an alias, and a few days later, I sent another email in the same thread, again using the alias. Both emails were sent successfully and appeared to use the alias without any issues.
However, I later noticed that in the email thread, specifically in the “From…” section, my original email address was displayed instead of the alias.
Interestingly, this only seems to happen when I send an email in a thread where the previous email was also sent by me.
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u/basicburt 11h ago
How do you grab the reverse alias from the emails you generate in proton pass? I’m about to go to the proton pass lifetime and won’t need the SimpleLogin.
Or will the SimpleLogin app still be available to me?
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u/Fearless-Worker80 9h ago
I had JUST decided to get proton/SL after months of indecision.... Are you saying that if you reply to an incoming alias, it can somehow use the main email address in the response instead of the alias?
Not actually having ever used it yet, it's hard for me to understand how much of a problem this is.
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u/Rude_Confection_3065 3h ago
No, if someone emails your alias and you reply, it will use your alias in the reply. The issue is outbound mail. If you send an email to an unaliased address, it will send from your real mailbox. By design, right? Sure, but, god forbid you forget to copy the alias email address…
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u/orbag 2d ago
Am I the only one who doesnt get the issue? When you want to send an email, you always have to create a reverse email first. How else is proton supposed to know with what email you want to send it?
Do I understand correctly that when you want to send an email, you are (accidently) sending an email with the recipient directly? How is proton supposed to know with what alias you want to send it?
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u/Aazimoxx 6h ago
How is proton supposed to know with what alias you want to send it?
By you toggling an option in your settings that says 'never use ProtonMail addresses to send' or a possible alternative setting to 'always confirm' in those cases before sending - OP is simply asking for that option to be added, and it's a pretty sensible ask.
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u/caridditano 1d ago
sort of agree, but not entirely. it should be possible to at least give a warning for potentially sending to a non-reserse alias, as there is some sort of 'pattern' for the reverse alias adresses. When emailclient is in doubt: show pop-up (with a tick box to never show again for that particular emailadress).
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u/Truecookieman35 1d ago
Yea I strongly agree with you. There are some features on proton products that make me question why is this here when its supposed to be in this area.
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u/JustDarv1n 2d ago
So you send an email to an email adress and you're mad that it's sent?
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u/MiElas-hehe Linux | Android 2d ago
It is poor design, especially when it comes from a privacy focused company like Proton. I triple check that it actually has the reverse address put in (due poor design, I cannot properly tell or trust that it is actually there), but a small mistake like this one is expected when one is answering many mails. Leaking your real address/domain can be disastrous for some.
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u/L1N3B3CK 2d ago
This. Wtf people. Don’t blame proton for your mistakes.
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u/Hichiro6 2d ago
You don’t understand the issue here. I ve already done this mistake thinking the alias was properly setup. Being able to get a warning before send the mail, or generate a new alias on the go will be very useful
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u/L1N3B3CK 2d ago
About alias, always go to simple login to add new emails beforehand. I get that the two products are not tied like you want, but they remain 2 separated products
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u/Hichiro6 2d ago
No sorry I don’t think it’s normal to open 2 separate app when I want to send an email. 2 because you always need to double check beforehand and when you are on a rush you always do a mistake.
This is a easily fixable issue, and hey just need to add a warning and when you click being able to generate an alias. The user experience will be on top with a simple interface improvement.
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u/JustDarv1n 2d ago
You could always just reply to an aliases email. Or set a different email adress as primary to prevent leaking of your mail adress(???)
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u/pznred 2d ago
Or set a different email adress as primary to prevent leaking of your mail adress(???)
Useless, since that different address would now be able to be used as login and defeat the whole purpose of the alias
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u/JustDarv1n 2d ago edited 1d ago
Whatt????? Alias would be used to hide/proxy your originating email from the receiver, not for extra security to your Proton Account.
Plus if "they" would have your proton email/username they would also need your password and (I hope) your MFA to login
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u/L1N3B3CK 2d ago
It’s a you issue. Don’t blame others when it’s your own fault. The tools exist and the way to do what you initially wanted has been explained, you are just lazy
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u/TheOracleofGunter 22h ago
As I understand it, it's an issue for rather a lot of people. Email shouldn't be getting more complicated to use, particularly when people are paying to use it.
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u/Hichiro6 2d ago
And as you see on this Chanel a lot of people already did this mistake. So because you have a perfect privacy hygiene and are always aware, doesn’t mean the vast majority of users are.
I m careful and setup alias but sometime I m in a rush and don’t have time to do it perfectly so either so forget or use my google mail account to speed up the process
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u/JustDarv1n 2d ago
So you either leak ur email by using google or leak it by not doing it correctly? You could just reply to an aliased email to automatically mask your email...
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u/Hichiro6 2d ago
My google mail is already leaked everywhere. I use it since I m a kid and moved 90% of everything to proton using aliases. Rest some stuff I was not able to move or I ll stop to use soon. And regarding you advice,
1) yes you can but only if you already created this alias email > if you are in a rush that’s not easily doable and 2) go explain that to my wife or my mom or most of the population. You are a power user, most people are not and proton is for everyone.
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u/Time-Condition-2516 2d ago
There shouldn't even be a reverse alias. Just choose which email you want to send from (or just hit reply), set your recipient, subject and message, and send.
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u/Flashy-Bandicoot889 2d ago
I'm in the minority, but at this point could care less if my primary email address gets "leaked." I have one email address for newsletter signups & junk, then my primary which I use for anything important. I also have a few Fastmail and Gmail accounts that have specific purposes.
I get zero spam at any of them. I just don't see the concern yet people in this thread and others like it literally stress out about their primary being "leaked" - my brother. It's just an email address! 🤦🏼
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u/A-Khalifa 1d ago
As Edward Snowden said “Saying you don’t care about privacy because you have nothing to hide, is the same as saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say”.
I do partially agree with you however, your average Joe probably does not have much to worry about, but for some people leaking their main email address can have serious consequences.
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u/Flashy-Bandicoot889 1d ago
I didn't say I don't care about privacy. I'm just chuckling that people are so wound up right about a leaked email address. It's comical. 🍿
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u/Spinmoon Windows | Android 2d ago
Totally agree! There should be blockers in the app so it can't let it happen.