Google’s Email Shield hides your real email from apps -

Google is developing Shielded Email, a tool that creates disposable email aliases to protect users’ real Gmail addresses when signing up for apps and services, helping to reduce spam.

Discovered in a Google Play Services APK teardown, the feature works through Gboard’s autofill, offering Android users a privacy option similar to Apple’s Hide My Email.

Google’s Email Shield

The feature uses Google’s Autofill system, which already suggests saved credentials when users sign up for apps or websites.

With Shielded Email, users will see a new “Use Shielded Email” button that creates a random email alias (like aq7z9d@shielded.google) when selected.

These aliases work by forwarding emails to the user’s main inbox while hiding their real address.

Google manages this process on its servers, and the feature will only activate after the official launch.

Users will be able to turn off forwarding for any alias through Gmail settings, blocking unwanted emails.

This control will likely appear under the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, letting users disconnect aliases from their main account.

Early previews show the feature built into Gboard, appearing as a suggestion when filling out email fields.

Privacy and Anti-Spam Benefits

Shielded Email tackles two key privacy risks: cross-platform tracking and data breaches. Each app or website gets a unique alias, so activities stay separate. If one alias is compromised, users can disable it without exposing their real email.

This improves on Google’s older “+” tagging system, which many services block, while randomized aliases are harder for spammers to detect.

Shielded Email makes alias creation easier than using third-party tools like TempMail. Similar to Apple’s Hide My Email, it generates throwaway addresses—but works directly in Gboard and Autofill, making it seamless for Android users.

This could bring email masking to billions of devices, without needing paid subscriptions or extra apps. It also helps users avoid exposing their real email when signing up for apps, reducing reliance on OAuth logins.

Google has not announced when Shielded Email will launch, but code updates confirm it’s in progress. Several questions remain, like how long aliases will last, if it will work on iOS or desktops, and whether it will be tied to Google One.

Experts say its success depends on reliable forwarding and protection from alias hijacking. It’s unclear if forwarded emails will have end-to-end encryption.

Shielded Email could be Google’s biggest privacy upgrade for Gmail in years, helping users block spam, protect their real email, and avoid tracking across apps—if Google makes it easy to use and control.