The Scoop: People often provide their email addresses to online retailers, social platforms, and, of course, dating apps and sites. With that information floating around, it could end up in the hands of people who shouldn’t have it. SimpleLogin helps online daters and others solve that dilemma by creating unique email addresses to sign up for various platforms. Information from those platforms still comes to user inboxes through SimpleLogin, but no one has access to the user’s personal email. Soon, SimpleLogin plans to add phone numbers to its technology to help make digital life even safer for singles.
Singles who provide an email address to sign up for online dating sites may leave themselves vulnerable to malicious actors who are interested in stealing their personal information.
Hackers can use personal email addresses in a variety of illegal schemes to make money. For example, they could send junk mail that includes a link to ransomware from an account made to look like someone else’s. Or, they could use an email address along with personal information to steal identities — an activity that’s been gaining traction since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The Federal Trade Commission received 1.4 million reports of identity theft in 2020 — double the number it received in 2019. In these recent scams, thieves would often target government economic relief funds directed at those who took a financial hit during the pandemic. But criminals use many other angles, including romance scams.
SimpleLogin helps singles protect their privacy while using online platforms — including dating apps and sites. The open-source solution shields email addresses by creating email aliases that forward to a user’s real address. So, if a dating website is hacked, only the alias address is accessed.
“About two years ago, I was receiving spam and phishing emails in my inbox, and there was no way to disable them,” said SimpleLogin Founder Son Nguyen Kim. “I started to think of a real solution to have different email addresses for each website. I studied it and thought it’d be useful for the general public if it could be simple.”
Many hackers target singles who have signed up for online dating because the registration process leads people to disclose a lot of personal information. Thanks to SimpleLogin, personal email addresses don’t have to be part of the info dump.
SimpleLogin allows users to create up to 15 unique email addresses and use them to sign up for different sites. This enables singles to maintain multiple dating profiles while protecting their privacy.
Company Founder Created Startup After Too Much Spam
No one enjoys receiving spam, but Son decided to do something about it.
At the beginning of his career, Son worked for the largest advertising company in France. But he didn’t like the fact that so much of his job included making people click on a product or service. At the same time, he was also doing plenty of clicking — and getting a lot of junk email in return.
So he created SimpleLogin as a solution. It remains a small company with just four employees who work remotely in Paris and Scotland. But the company has plans to expand both its team and its services in the coming years.
SimpleLogin recently received a big boost from media outlets covering its solution to the growing problem of giving out personal email addresses for online shopping, dating sites, and other services. Now people can use email addresses for specific purposes online and know when one company sells or compromises their information.
So far, SimpleLogin has helped more than 50,000 users create over 700,000 email aliases. That math comes out to around 12 emails per user, making it easier to take care of business — or pleasure — on the internet.
Users Can Add as Many Email Addresses as Needed
If singles don’t feel comfortable giving their personal email address when signing up for a new dating website or app, SimpleLogin offers an easy solution. The free version allows people to create up to 15 email addresses, and the premium plan has no limit on the number of alias email addresses someone can create.
Son is quick to point out that, while this is a technical solution, people don’t need to be tech-savvy to use it.
“The new addresses will forward emails to your main account. We wanted to make this technology available to anyone. It’s simple, so the general public can use it,” Son said.
The process is especially easy for users in the Google Chrome browser. SimpleLogin offers a browser extension that users set up in minutes. Users will see the email box with a small login button to create a new email address. Mobile apps on iOS and Android also have that functionality.
“The easiest way to use the SimpleLogin is the browser extension,” Son said. “For people who are not used to technology like this, it’s the best way to start. Veterans or experienced technologists may prefer the web interface because it’s more adaptive.”
With the click of a button, users can generate a random email address. Any mail it receives will automatically forward to the real account. And when a fake email address starts getting too much spam or junk mail, users can disable it and create a new one.
SimpleLogin: Next Focus is Phone Number Forwarding
Many dating apps and sites require an email address and a phone number at signup. For those who already receive too many robocalls, SimpleLogin is working on the next phase of privacy.
Son said that by the beginning of next year, the team plans to launch a service that offers alias phone numbers so users can keep their numbers safe.
But the company has its sights set on even higher goals. By 2023, SimpleLogin hopes to announce a service that allows people to provide a fake credit card or bank account number that can be routed to the real account or shut down if a hacker tries to use it.
In the meantime, Son said his team works with singles and people in relationships who are just learning how to protect themselves from invasions of privacy that can cost them time and money.
People are quickly seeing that, although many dating sites and apps offer a single sign-on (SSO) option through Facebook, Google, or Apple, it often makes it easier for hackers to gain information more quickly. SimpleLogin is just as easy — and much safer.
“We get a lot of support questions from people who are new to technology and want to know how it works,” he said. “We are lucky because we have a lot of positive reviews in the industry. So, that’s given us a bump.”
