According to a recent report, Google is working on a new feature that could protect users’ privacy while using apps that ask for their email addresses. Shielded Email is currently being developed and could allow users to exchange email address “aliases” while enrolling for apps or newsletters, according to code found in one of the company’s applications. Apple already offers a similar feature on its devices called Hide My Email, for iCloud+ subscribers.
During a breakdown of the Google Play Services version 24.45.33 APK, Android Authority and AssembleDebug discovered a new feature called Shielded Email. Various strings of code unearthed by the publication provide insight into the supposed feature and how it would work if it is eventually implemented by the company.
According to the report, the Shielded Email feature will help users keep their email addresses private by generating an email alias when an application asks a user to submit their email addresses. One of the lines further explains why the feature could be useful as it protects them from “online tracking and data breaches”.
It also looks like these email aliases can forward emails to a user’s mailbox, perhaps serving as a buffer against spam emails. Whether users can create several Shielded Email addresses (aliases) is unknown.
According to the publication, Google may integrate the Shielded Email feature with its Autofill functionality on Android smartphones, a screenshot of the Autofill settings area reveals a new symbol that displays an email with a blue tag and the Google logo.
It’s worth mentioning that Apple, Google’s rival, also has a similar function called Hide My Email. This function is available to iCloud+ subscribers and allows them to create email aliases without sharing their real email address with an application or website. Emails sent to these aliases are routed to the user’s main email inbox
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It’s unclear whether Google will roll out the new Shielded Email feature to users. Other details, such as availability and pricing (or whether it will be limited to Google One members), remain unknown. However, we may expect to find out more about the feature and how it functions in the upcoming weeks or months.
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