Google is working on a new feature that could protect a user’s privacy while using apps that ask for their email address, according to a report. Strings of code spotted in one of the company’s applications reveal that a feature called Shielded Email is currently in development, and it could allow users to share email address ‘aliases’ when signing up for apps or newsletters. Apple already offers a similar feature on its devices called Hide My Email, for iCloud+ subscribers.

Shielded Email Feature Could Offer Email Aliases With Forwarding Support

Android Authority and AssembleDebug spotted a new feature while performing a teardown of the Google Play Services version 24.45.33 APK, which is dubbed Shielded Email. Various strings of code discovered by the publication give us an idea about the purported feature and how it might work, if it is eventually rolled out by the company.

According to the report, the Shielded Email feature will let users keep their email address private by generating an email alias when an application asks a user to provide their email address. One of the strings also suggests why the feature could come in handy — by protecting them from “online tracking and data breaches”.

It also appears that these email aliases will be capable of forwarding emails to a user’s real inbox, which could provide a buffer from services that send out spam emails. It’s currently unclear whether users will be able to generate multiple Shielded Email addresses (or aliases).

Google could integrate the Shielded Email feature with its Autofill functionality on Android smartphones, according to the publication — a screenshot of the Autofill settings section shows a new icon that depicts an email with a blue tag and the Google logo. 

It’s worth noting that Google’s rival Apple already offers a similar feature called Hide My Email. This feature is available to iCloud+ subscribers and allows users to instantly generate email aliases instead of sharing their real email address with an application or website. Emails sent to these aliases are also forwarded to the user’s actual email inbox. 

It’s unclear whether (or when) 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 customers), are also currently unknown. but we can expect to learn more about the feeature and how it works in the coming weeks or months.