ManyMe Provides Unique Insight and Unmatched Email Inbox Control
Have you ever wondered what happens to your email address after you disclose it at a web site? The key to finding out is to use a different email address every time you register online. Then, by tracking the senders that use each address, it is possible to detect when an address provided to one site is later used by someone at a different site.
Email experts have long used their technical expertise to employ multiple addresses, called aliases, not only for this added insight, but also for stronger security, enhanced privacy, and greater control over what gets into their email inbox. ManyMe makes it simple for everyone to use aliases and enjoy these same advantages, without having to be an expert. In our approach, many addresses means “many me’s.”
In ManyMe’s free service, aliases take the form of one’s ManyMe username plus a dot and a label followed by @manyme.com (username.label@manyme.com). The label can be anything you wish to give the address context or meaning, perhaps to trigger your recollection of where or when you disclosed it, or the purpose of disclosing it, for example, username.homedepot@manyme.com or username.mydoctor@manyme.com.
ManyMe refers to these aliases as FlyBy™ addresses, because you can choose them on the spur of the moment as needed, online and even offline, in conversation or when filling out a paper form. Addresses don’t need to be created beforehand, and ManyMe automatically remembers them for you in your personal, secure dashboard. Always use a different address for each purpose, as this will give you maximum privacy and security. An address without a label isn’t valid.
Once a FlyBy address is used, email sent to that address arrives at ManyMe.com, where it undergoes an extensive series of checks for authentication, security and user preferences; messages that pass inspection are then forwarded to your primary email inbox, in any email system, so that you only have one email inbox to manage. This approach provides a layer of privacy that prevents senders from knowing your true email identity, as well as your email provider, even if you reply to a message.
When processing messages ManyMe also records the address of every sender using each FlyBy, and summary information is displayed in the FlyBy section of your ManyMe dashboard. Analysis of these To-From address pairs enables ManyMe to alert you when an address starts to spread. While address sharing might be in accordance with a site’s privacy policy, the use of an address by unrelated senders might be a leading indicator that a site has been compromised or the address has been sold.
Tracking the spread of an address isn’t only interesting, it’s also very useful. ManyMe’s unique, visual, in-message interface makes it easy for you to see a mismatch between the address of the sender and the address used to reach you, which is very helpful to detect and avoid phishing attacks seeking to steal your money, private information, or important credentials. For example, if someone purporting to be your bank sends you a message without the proper ManyMe address label, the message is clearly fraudulent.
ManyMe’s simple visual controls also enable you to limit the use of an address, for example, to pre-emptively block all senders at new domains, or in the extreme, to disable an address altogether. If the address continues to spread, you won’t care because ManyMe protects you from the consequences.
Tracking the spread of addresses is just one example of how ManyMe gives you greater online privacy, security and inbox control. With these advantages, ManyMe provides the only other email account you’ll ever need.