addy.io
addy.io is a bootstrapped, open-source email alias service that lets privacy-conscious consumers create forwarding addresses to protect their real inbox from spam and data breaches. Founded in 2019 by Will Browning, it operates on a freemium subscription model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- Headquarters—
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What addy.io does
addy.io is a bootstrapped, open-source email alias service founded in 2019 (originally as AnonAddy) by Will Browning and rebranded in August 2023. The platform lets individual users create disposable or persistent email aliases that forward to a real inbox, allowing them to identify, isolate, and disable sources of spam or data leakage without ever exposing their primary email address. The service is operated by a single founder with one contracted mobile developer (Stjin), with a stated team size of 1–10 and no external funding; it targets a single persona — privacy-conscious individual consumers — and counts 'thousands of users' globally.
The technical stack is built on Laravel/PHP 8.2 with a Postfix mail server, Rspamd for spam filtering, Redis, MariaDB, and Nginx, hosted on Greenhost (Amsterdam, wind-powered) and UpCloud (Amsterdam and Warsaw). Core capabilities include GPG/OpenPGP encryption of forwarded mail, custom domains with regex-based catch-all, anonymous reply and send-from aliases, multi-recipient routing, a rules engine, and a REST API on Laravel Sanctum. Delivery spans a web application (app.addy.io), official open-source iOS and Android apps, browser extensions across Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari, Brave, and Vivaldi, and a self-hosted Docker option for technical users. The service passed an independent security audit by Securitum in September 2023 with no significant vulnerabilities identified.
The business model is freemium subscription in three tiers: Free ($0), Lite ($1/year), and Pro ($3/year or $4/month) — implying a paid ARPU well under $5 on annual plans. Distribution is product-led and community-driven via the company blog, GitHub, the native Bitwarden password-manager integration, and a privacy-first partner perks program bundling reciprocal discounts on Notesnook, Windscribe, Kagi, Tuta, and EasyOptOuts. Revenue is supplemented by voluntary donations via NOWPayments (BTC, XMR, LTC, DOGE, DCR, ETH, LNBT), GitHub Sponsors, OpenCollective, and PayPal.
addy.io firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- addy.io
- Legal name
- addy.io
- Website
- https://addy.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- addy.io is a bootstrapped, open-source email alias service that lets privacy-conscious consumers create forwarding addresses to protect their real inbox from spam and data breaches. Founded in 2019 by Will Browning, it operates on a freemium subscription model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
addy.io industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Email Privacy and Security
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Email Authentication & Domain Protection (DMARC/SPF/DKIM) (HDADAKAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Email Phishing & BEC Protection (HDADAKAB), Directory Services & Identity Data Platforms (BPAMAEAG)
Keywords
addy.io business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Subscription (Freemium): Free tier with limited features (10 shared domain aliases, 1 recipient, 2 alias domains, 10MB bandwidth). Paid Lite ($1/year) and Pro ($3/year or $4/month) tiers unlock unlimited aliases, more recipients, custom domains, anonymous reply/send, rules, priority support, and unlimited bandwidth. Revenue is recurring subscription-based with annual or monthly billing in USD, GBP, or EUR.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Free tier: unlimited standard aliases, 10 shared domain aliases, 1 recipient, 2 alias domains, 10MB monthly bandwidth |
| Subscription | Annual | Lite: $1/year - 50 shared domain aliases, 5 recipients, 6 domains, 1 custom domain, 50 replies/sends per day, 100MB bandwidth |
| Subscription | Monthly | Pro: $3/year or $4/month - unlimited aliases, 30 recipients, 20 custom domains, 200 replies/sends per day, unlimited bandwidth |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
addy.io product offering
Product offeringCore offering
addy.io creates email aliases that forward to a user's real inbox, allowing users to share an alias address instead of their primary email when signing up for online services. Users can deactivate or delete aliases to silently discard spam or bounce senders, and can reply and initiate new emails from aliases without revealing their real address. The service also offers GPG/OpenPGP end-to-end encryption, custom domain support, multiple recipients per alias, anonymous reply/send-from, rules automation, and is delivered as an open-source platform via web, mobile apps, and browser extensions.
Product overview
addy.io is a single unified product — a free, open-source anonymous email forwarding service that creates email aliases to protect users' real email addresses. The core platform is delivered through multiple interfaces: a web application (app.addy.io), official mobile apps for iOS and Android, and browser extensions for Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari, Brave, and Vivaldi. Users can also self-host their own instance. The service offers tiered subscription plans (Free, Lite at $1/year, Pro at $3/year) with increasing limits and features. Paid subscribers also gain access to addy.io Perks — exclusive partner discounts on privacy-focused services. The architecture supports GPG/OpenPGP encryption, custom domains, multiple alias formats (standard, random, UUID), anonymous reply/send from aliases, rules automation, and a public REST API.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- addy.io Email Alias Service (Core Platform) Free and open-source anonymous email forwarding service that creates email aliases to protect users' real email addresses from spam, data breaches, and tracking. Users can generate aliases on-the-fly or pre-generate random and UUID aliases, forward to a real inbox, reply anonymously from aliases, and deactivate or delete aliases to stop spam silently or bounce senders.
- addy.io iOS/iPadOS App Official mobile app for iPhone and iPad built with SwiftUI offering a smooth user experience to manage aliases on the go. Features include custom icons, configurable widgets, sharing sheet integration, Siri & Shortcuts automation, and a watch-alias feature. Free for all addy.io users.
- addy.io Android App Official Android app developed by Stjin, available on Google Play Store and F-Droid. Features include notifications for expiring subscriptions and failed deliveries, custom icons, widgets, and a watch-alias feature. Free for all addy.io users.
- addy.io Browser Extension Open-source browser extension for creating new aliases in a couple of clicks while browsing. Available for Firefox, Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Brave, and Vivaldi. Version 2 enables full alias management including view, search, activate/deactivate, delete/restore/forget, edit descriptions, and a send-from address constructor.
- Self-Hosted addy.io Complete self-hosting solution for deploying a personal instance of addy.io on an Ubuntu server. Includes detailed documentation for Postfix, Nginx, PHP 8.2, MariaDB, Redis, Rspamd, Let's Encrypt, DKIM/ARC signing, DANE, MTA-STS, and DNSSEC configuration. Requires technical competence for server management.
Quantifiable outcome
- 10MB free bandwidth allows ~137 emails per month (average email ~75KB)
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use addy.io
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
addy.io technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature10 records
addy.io partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- EasyOptOutsminoraddy.io partnered with EasyOptOuts, an automated data removal service that scrubs personal information from 200+ data brokers and people-search sites. addy.io Lite and Pro subscribers get 25% off for life, with each coupon covering 5 sign-ups. US customers only.
- Tutaminoraddy.io partnered with Tuta, a privacy-focused encrypted email, calendar, and contacts service using post-quantum encryption. addy.io Lite and Pro subscribers receive 25% off their first year of Tuta. The integration allows users to forward addy.io aliases to encrypted Tuta accounts for double privacy protection.
- Kagiminoraddy.io partnered with Kagi, a premium, privacy-focused, ad-free search engine. addy.io Lite and Pro subscribers receive 3 months of Kagi's Professional plan for free (unlimited search).
- Windscribeminoraddy.io partnered with Windscribe, a court-proven, audited no-logs VPN service with post-quantum safe encryption. addy.io Lite and Pro subscribers receive a 3-month Pro trial (no strings attached), then the annual Pro plan for $49/year (regular $69/year).
- Notesnookminoraddy.io partnered with Notesnook, a fully open-source and end-to-end encrypted note-taking app. addy.io Lite and Pro subscribers get 25% off the first year of Notesnook Pro.
- Stjin (Mobile App Developer)coreStjin developed and maintains the official addy.io mobile apps for iOS (SwiftUI) and Android. The source code for both apps is consolidated under the addy.io GitHub organisation. Both apps are free for all addy.io users. Stjin continues to improve the apps with new features.
- BitwardencoreBitwarden integrated addy.io into their password manager's Generator feature. Bitwarden users can now create email aliases for addy.io directly from the Bitwarden Generator, making it quick and convenient to create and save alias details for each account. Available on desktop app, browser extensions, and web vault.
- Greenhost.netcoreGreenhost.net is the hosting provider for the main mail server (mail.anonaddy.me), located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Greenhost has a commitment to privacy by design, runs on Dutch wind energy, and supports all required DNS records including DANE/TLSA.
- UpCloudcoreUpCloud provides the web application server (app.addy.io), database server, and backup mail server (mail2.anonaddy.me). All servers are in UpCloud data centres in the Netherlands and Poland. The database is a managed Aiven service running on UpCloud's platform.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights5 records
addy.io competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Proton Mail: End-to-end encrypted email provider that acquired SimpleLogin. Competes on overlapping privacy-first email use cases, bundles SimpleLogin aliases, and has substantially larger resources and brand reach than addy.io.
Emerging players
- Tuta (Tutanota): Encrypted email, calendar, and contacts provider using post-quantum encryption. addy.io recently partnered with Tuta (25% off first year for Lite/Pro subscribers) to forward aliases into encrypted Tuta mailboxes — a complementary rather than competing relationship that targets the same audience.
- Burnermail: Email aliasing service with browser extension and forwarding functionality. Targets the same privacy-conscious SMB and individual consumer segment as addy.io, with overlapping feature set (custom domains, replies, browser extension).
- IronVest (by Abine): Privacy and security suite offering masked emails, masked phone numbers, and ad-blocking. Overlaps with addy.io's email aliasing feature but bundles it with adjacent privacy tools, making it a partial rather than full competitor.
Regional players
- StartMail: Privacy-focused email service founded by the team behind Startpage. Provides unlimited aliases on paid plans and targets a similar European privacy-conscious user base, though primarily a hosted-mailbox product rather than an alias-only service.
Direct peers
- SimpleLogin: Direct email-alias competitor acquired by Proton in 2022. Offers the same core use case (disposable aliases forwarding to a real inbox, custom domains, PGP) and is now bundled with Proton Mail — making it the closest feature-for-feature rival to addy.io.
- Apple Hide My Email: Apple's iCloud+ feature generates random email aliases that forward to a personal inbox, deeply integrated into Safari, Mail, and Sign in with Apple. Bundled free with iCloud+ subscription, creating a frictionless default for hundreds of millions of Apple users.
- Firefox Relay: Mozilla's email alias service offering subdomain-based aliases that forward to a real inbox. Free tier (5 aliases) and Premium tier (unlimited) directly overlap addy.io's core proposition, with the Mozilla brand providing significant distribution advantage.
- DuckDuckGo Email Protection: DuckDuckGo's free email aliasing service that strips trackers from forwarded messages. Competes directly for the same privacy-conscious consumer persona, with strong brand awareness from DuckDuckGo's search product.
- 33mail: Long-running disposable email alias service offering unlimited aliases with custom-domain support. One of the oldest direct competitors, targeting the same privacy-conscious individual consumer segment as addy.io.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
addy.io social profiles
Digital presenceaddy.io compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
addy.io financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
addy.io leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
addy.io funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
addy.io M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about addy.io
What does addy.io do?
addy.io creates email aliases that forward to a user's real inbox, allowing users to share an alias address instead of their primary email when signing up for online services. Users can deactivate or delete aliases to silently discard spam or bounce senders, and can reply and initiate new emails from aliases without revealing their real address. The service also offers GPG/OpenPGP end-to-end encryption, custom domain support, multiple recipients per alias, anonymous reply/send-from, rules automation, and is delivered as an open-source platform via web, mobile apps, and browser extensions.
Is addy.io a public or private company?
addy.io is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was addy.io founded?
addy.io was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
How does addy.io make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription (Freemium).
Who are addy.io's main competitors?
Proton Mail is listed as a broad incumbent. Emerging players are Tuta (Tutanota), Burnermail and IronVest (by Abine). StartMail is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are SimpleLogin, Apple Hide My Email, Firefox Relay, DuckDuckGo Email Protection and 33mail.
Does addy.io have an API?
Yes. RESTful API at https://app.addy.io/api/v1 for managing aliases, recipients, domains, additional usernames, rules, blocklist, and failed deliveries. Authentication via Bearer token (API key) generated from account settings. Supports Insomnia and Postman with available collection download. Previously used Laravel Passport, migrated to Laravel Sanctum for lighter-weight token authentication. Developer documentation is at app.addy.io/docs.
What industry is addy.io in?
addy.io's product category is Email Privacy and Security. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDADAKAC, Email Authentication & Domain Protection (DMARC/SPF/DKIM), with a secondary code of HDADAKAB, Email Phishing & BEC Protection. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.