How do I find someone's hidden email address?

If you're looking to learn more about a specific person and want to find out if they have an account somewhere online, it can be tricky. Many people use multiple email addresses or sign up with fake ones so finding the right one is often difficult.

However, there are some great options that let you search through your contacts' emails without having them directly linked together - and this article breaks down all those methods step-by-step. We'll also explain what "hidden" email means when searching for someone's email address using a contact's name.

So whether you need to find a friend's email address or just curious as to why your friends keep hiding theirs from you, these tips should help you figure out who owns the email associated with their names.

What does hide email mean on iPhone?

When we say "hide", we aren't talking about a password here. Rather, it refers to any method that prevents you from accessing certain information within Apple's Contacts app. For example, you might see a line like "Hiding Email Address". You could click on the box next to it. But instead of seeing an actual email address, it may simply read "Not Available."

There isn't much you can do once you've found a user's private data has been hidden, unless they choose to make it public again themselves. However, if you'd rather not deal with emails being hidden at all, then try our other guides to stop getting messages sent to spam folders.

It shouldn't come as too big of a surprise that most people won't share their real email addresses publicly for obvious reasons. It takes time to build trust and relationships over text messaging, which makes it easier to forge new connections than it would be via direct contact. That said, there are plenty of legitimate uses for sharing your email address - especially for businesses who rely heavily on customer service.

But even though many people prefer to protect their privacy, it doesn't always mean that they actually have something to hide. In fact, sometimes it's quite the opposite. Just because they haven't given away their email address yet, doesn't necessarily mean that they haven't already opened it for others. So while you might think that your best bet is to look for the email address, you might end up wasting your time.

We'll explain below how to find someone's email address by their name, regardless of whether it was ever made available or not.

How do I get rid of my hidden email?

You can remove your own personal data from the list of people whose emails have been marked as "Hidden" after clicking on Edit Contact Info. To do this, open up your Contacts app and select the contact that you wish to edit before selecting the three dots icon located at the top of the screen. Next, tap Delete Contact Info and confirm deletion.

This only deletes your own info, however, and doesn't affect anything else on your device. If you still want to delete everyone else's data, go into Settings > Mail & Messaging and scroll down until you reach Advanced Options. Tap Show More and switch off Hide Email Addresses for Everyone.

Now everyone will no longer appear under Hidden Email Addresses in your address book. As mentioned above, this option is useful if you prefer to maintain a degree of anonymity when communicating with strangers. The downside is that you now have to manually add each person back into your address books individually.

If you still want to view people's hidden emails, you can enable the feature again by going to Settings > Privacy > Manage Your Content and Devices and switching on Allow Searching People's Data.

Next, head back to Contacts and repeat the process outlined above. Select the individual that you were trying to manage and check the box next to Enable Editing Contact Information. Now you can access their email address whenever you want.

How does hidden email work?

To understand how hidden email works, we first need to explore the concept behind email addresses. When you send an email message to another person, all of the details are stored inside a database called an SMTP server. Those servers store various pieces of metadata about every single email received including sender, receiver, date/time, subject matter, attachments, etc. Once you receive an email, you can easily retrieve its entire contents by entering the correct credentials into your inbox client software.

You can tell if two different people are connected to the same email address based on their IPs. While sending an email, the source computer sends a unique string of numbers and letters to the destination machine along with the actual content. These numbers and letters form part of the header of the email itself. They serve as the identification code used to determine ownership of the email.

The easiest way to identify an email owner is to compare their IP address against the headers. All major mail providers offer APIs that allow developers to query their databases for users' email addresses. Here's how to use Gmail API to fetch all user IDs from Google Apps domains.

Another popular approach is to use Google Reverse Image Lookup API to match images against email addresses. And if you really want to dig deep, you can search for public records that contain email addresses.

With the above techniques, you can quickly scan a large amount of data and find the owners of many common email addresses. One thing to note, however, is that some companies may ask you to verify your identity before granting access to their API.

While searching for hidden email addresses, you typically need to enter the full name of the person you're interested in tracking down. Once you locate their profile page, you need to either copy the URL or paste it into a browser window. Then, type in the domain name followed by.com/.net/.org/.biz/.info. Don't worry if the site redirects you to a generic error page - this is perfectly normal behavior.

Most websites will automatically recognize your request as coming from an automated crawler. Some sites will block access to your request altogether. Others will display warning pages asking you not to submit such requests. Most importantly, none of the results will include the actual email address you're seeking.

Instead, you'll likely get a few possible matches. Each result includes the website where the email is most commonly found, plus the location, age, gender, occupation, birthday, company name, etc. Of course, you can narrow things down further by adding additional criteria like city, state, country, etc.

Some services require you to pay a fee to gain access to their data, so be sure to read the terms of service carefully before proceeding. Other times, you'll find yourself presented with hundreds of hits. At this point, it becomes clear that the chances of locating someone's email address are slim.

Still, you can continue sifting through the results to find potential leads. There are several paid programs designed specifically to hunt down hidden email addresses, but we recommend avoiding them unless absolutely necessary. Instead, focus your efforts on learning how to effectively perform manual searches using basic web scraping techniques.

There are several good tutorials explaining exactly how to scrape data from websites using Python. Some examples include Scrapy, Requests, BeautifulSoup and CasperJS. You can also check out the official documentation for Selenium WebDriver, a popular toolkit that lets you automate tasks across browsers.

Tools like DuckDuckGo, Shodan, and ZAP Proxy are also helpful for identifying unknown machines. With these apps installed on both your desktop PC and smartphone, you can remotely connect to any internet-connected devices running Windows, MacOS or Linux operating systems. Then, you can run queries against the remote system's internal network to gather valuable information.

For instance, you can scan for vulnerable ports or uncover previously unreported hosts. These kinds of scans usually take less than 30 seconds. On smartphones, you can install similar apps like NetHunter Pro and Xniffer.

Finally, you can try your luck by submitting a simple Google search with the following parameters:

+site:yourdomainname.com "address@example.com"

+site:yourdomainname.com "mailto:[email protected]"

+site:yourdomainname.com "contact_us"

+site:yourdomainname.com "support"

+site:yourdomainname.com "customerservice"

+site:yourdomainname.com "webmaster"

On iOS, the Safari browser allows you to execute arbitrary Javascript commands. By setting your home button to launch Siri, you can issue voice commands to trigger actions on your device. For instance, saying "send [email protected] an invite" triggers the Messages app to prompt you for permission to send an invitation.

Then, navigate to Contacts and press Command + C to Copy the link. After copying it onto your clipboard, you can paste it into the field provided during the initial setup.

You're trying to reach out to the person whose contact details you need and it feels like your emails are bouncing back straight into the void of cyberspace. You've tried calling them, they didn't pick up so you left a message, or text-messaged them... and nothing! It seems as though there is no way in. But have no fear - we'll help you figure out how to get past that wall.

Don't worry if you can’t remember what it was exactly that got you stuck in this situation before. There are plenty more people who may be going through something similar right now. We all have stories about getting our hands on someone else's email address without having to pay any money at all. If only life were always that simple.

If you want to learn how to find someone's email address by using one of these techniques, then read on to discover some great tips and tricks from us here at MUO.

Can you hide an email address?

Yes, you can absolutely hide your email address when contacting others online. With just a little bit of thought you could easily make yourself almost untraceable while still being able to communicate with other parties. But why would you ever want to? Well, because sometimes you might not want everyone knowing your real identity when communicating online. Maybe you work undercover for a particular cause or maybe you'd rather remain anonymous while doing business on the internet. Either way, hiding your email isn't necessarily bad thing.

But first things first, let's talk about keeping your own personal information safe. How do you protect yourself from becoming a victim of cybercrime? One very easy way to secure your data is to use a strong password manager such as LastPass or 1Password. These programs allow you to create unique passwords for every website you visit. Then, once you log in, you simply copy those same credentials onto each new site you access. That means even if somebody steals your laptop, they won't have your login information for most sites -- which helps prevent account hijacking. And since many websites require two forms of identification to verify an account, it becomes much harder for hackers to gain control over your accounts.

Now, moving on to finding someone's email address. Let's take a look at some different methods below...

How do I keep my email address secret?

A lot of people choose to hide their email address when talking with strangers online. Some use fake names, some opt for disposable email addresses, and others go with generic ones that nobody has used yet. Whatever method you decide upon, it doesn't matter too much as long as you follow basic security guidelines. Here are some rules to consider:

Never share your physical location unless you're comfortable with whoever you're speaking to.

Use a VPN, especially if you live somewhere that's under surveillance.

Keep your browser history private and delete old sessions often.

Always install anti-malware software on your computer.

Only download apps from reputable sources such as Google Play Store or Apple App store.

Make sure you have good antivirus software installed on your smartphone.

Even after following all of the above advice, it's possible that someone will eventually track down your email address anyway. So, if you really must hide your actual email address, it should be encrypted. To encrypt your email address, head to a service provider called Mailinator. Once signed up, type in your desired username and click "Register". From there, you can send messages directly to your chosen alias. The downside is that you cannot reply to incoming messages sent to your email address. However, if you prefer, you can sign up for a secondary email address and forward all mail intended for your main inbox to your secondary one. Just be careful that you don't forget to check your spam folder regularly.

What is a masked email?

Another option is to set up a masked email address instead of hiding your real one completely. Masked email addresses give you complete anonymity online but also come with limitations. For example, you can only receive email via this system and never respond. Additionally, you can't see the sender's IP address either. Another drawback is that this kind of email requires additional server resources, meaning it takes longer to deliver messages than regular unencrypted ones. Still, if you want to stay totally anonymous, then this might be the best solution.

How do I find hidden email addresses on my Iphone?

There are several ways to locate a lost iPhone password. All you have to do is use one of the following three steps:

1. Check your iCloud settings

2. Perform a factory reset

3. Search your device for the forgotten passcode

Let's explore each step individually. First off, open Settings app on your iOS device and select General. Scroll down until you see Passcode Lock & Fingerprint ID, then turn on both options. Next, connect your device to iTunes and launch it. Select Devices " [your iPhone] to view its contents. Now move across to Info tab and scroll down till you see Device Password. Delete this entry and press OK. Your iPhone will restart automatically. When you unlock it again, you'll notice that Passcode Lock and Face Recognition are turned on. Head back to Settings and toggle off Passcode Lock and Face Recognition. Finally, tap Restore Backup button followed by Restoring Backups. Wait for iTunes to finish restoring your device.

When you reboot your iPhone, you'll see the familiar setup screen. At this point, enter your original backup code, confirm your choice and wait until your iPhone restarts automatically. After completing the process, you'll have to reenter your password whenever you want to restore backups, add or remove users, change your PIN, etc. In order to avoid losing all of your important files, make sure to save everything beforehand.

Once you've figured out how to hack someone's email address, try searching for their Facebook profile page in advance or try sending them a friend request. Also, ask around amongst friends and family members whether they know anything about the person you wish to contact. Chances are, they probably already have his full name and/or telephone number. As soon as you find out their info, you can begin reaching out to him/her. Good luck!

This article brought to you by MUO's partner program, TechRadar Pro. Get unlimited access to expert reviews and the latest tech news plus discounts, offers, and deals from TechRadar Pro.

Finding the right person to talk to about anything is hard enough without having to hunt them down via their email address too. But what if they're not using one and have no idea that it exists? Or worse still, are actively trying to hide its existence from others? If this sounds like your life then we've got some good news! We'll help you find out who has used any of these sites or services to create a new email address in order to keep yours safe - all completely anonymously.

There's nothing wrong with keeping your own online identity separate from other people, especially when you work as a journalist. However there's also very little reason why you should want to share every aspect of your personal life with strangers. That includes your emails, which may contain sensitive information such as bank details, medical records, family photos, or even just embarrassing stuff you'd rather kept private.

But sometimes this isn't possible. Maybe you need access to your partner's email to check messages they forward you, or maybe you're desperate to contact somebody after being stood up at a wedding reception. Whatever the case, we’re here to tell you exactly how to get hold of someone's real email address. It won't take long, so read on...

How do I find someone's secret email address?

If you already know the recipient's full name, simply type it into Google along with "email". You might get lucky straight away, but more often than not you'll end up with lots of false positives.

For example, typing "John Smith" into Google gives me several results including John Smith's Facebook profile page and LinkedIn profile, plus a bunch of spammy websites offering 'free' email addresses.

Instead, try searching for "full names", followed by "+site:" and then "mailto:":

This works much better, giving you many fewer hits, most of which are genuine websites containing links to mailing lists. There are plenty of legitimate options available, but unfortunately scammers are increasingly targeting people looking for email addresses by pretending to belong to big companies, so make sure you only send mail to domains ending ".com."

The best way to weed through the junk mail is to use multiple sources. For example, try entering your target's first name at NameChkr. The site checks against more than 6 million public databases across 200 countries worldwide and flags up potential matches instantly. Check the top 5 results to see whether the email belongs to the person you're seeking.

You could also look at email directories and reverse lookup providers. These include Whois Email Address Lookup and Mailboxer. Both offer quick searches based around IP address data - although neither guarantees that the email address actually exists.

How can I find someone's private email for free?

Websites like Spokeo, Socialbakers, and PeopleFinders provide email lookup reports, allowing you to research your target's public internet footprint. They each claim to use sophisticated algorithms to match email addresses with publicly-available datasets, usually gathered over time. By combining different data points, they say they can predict likely users based on age, location, occupation, marital status, income level, education level, and more.

However, while some of these services are certainly useful, they aren't always reliable. Some of the data comes from third parties who collect it illegally, while others rely on outdated government records that are now easily accessible for free anyway. And even if you believe everything they tell you, the truth is that nobody really knows how accurate these systems are.

In short, never trust these types of services blindly. Instead, rely on the tried and tested method outlined above instead.

How do I find a hidden Gmail account?

Gmail lets you set individual labels within your inboxes. Each label represents a specific topic, such as "Work," "Family," and "Friends." Using these you can organize your incoming messages neatly by category. In theory, this makes finding your old messages easier - but unless you remember the exact subject matter, you'll probably struggle.

It gets trickier still once you realize that Gmail allows you to add custom fields to your emails. So far so simple, but what happens next depends entirely on how you configure those extra bits of metadata. Let's assume you were working on something called "Project X" and wanted to save all related documents under the same folder. To do this, click Edit Settings and select Labels & Filters from the dropdown menu. Then enter Project X in the box labelled Custom Label Field. Finally, click Save Changes below.

Now whenever you receive an email message, it automatically becomes part of Project X. All you have to do is open the file and sort it accordingly. Alternatively, you can use a dedicated app like FolderSync to sync folders between devices on both platforms.

Can an email address be hidden?

Yes it can. Although we tend to think of our email address as a piece of identifying information, it doesn't necessarily have to be. As long as you're careful when setting up your email service provider, you can disguise your actual username behind a series of randomly generated numbers.

To achieve this, simply register a new domain name and point it towards your existing mailbox hosted elsewhere. Once installed, your password will remain unchanged, meaning nobody apart from you will ever know what your original login credentials were.

So, for example, let's imagine you had a website named MySecretEmailAddress.com. First, go to GoDaddy, sign up for a hosting package, and purchase a.co.uk domain name. Next, head back to your web host and log onto cPanel. Click Add Domain, choose Select DNS Hosting, and scroll down until you reach the Advanced tab. Here, select the option marked Randomized HOSTNAMEs, followed by Enter Password to confirm.

Once complete, test your newly created domain by clicking Browse URL and copying the resulting link into another browser window. You should now be able to navigate to it directly without knowing what your username was originally. Of course, you'll lose control over your domain name later if you decide you want to transfer it somewhere else, but that's true of pretty much every single thing worth owning on the Internet nowadays.

Remember though, hiding your email address doesn't mean you can stop receiving unwanted correspondence. If you don't like unsolicited communications, you need to review your privacy settings before signing up for any kind of service. Otherwise, you're going to waste countless hours trawling forums and message boards to see whether anybody wants to chat with you.