Let’s suppose for a moment that you need to share sensitive information with someone, and you prefer to keep your identity secret. Traditional email isn’t the first option that comes to mind in such cases, but with the help of an external service that keeps no logs or records, it becomes a valid communication channel. That external service is BlankStamp, which besides sending anonymous emails, supports chat rooms under the same conditions.
In the past we have seen some encrypted email services, such as Tutanota or ProtonMail. Both add a degree of “discomfort” when sending messages, but it is necessary when the goal is a higher level of privacy and security. Of course, those who have managed to master OpenPGP-GnuPG swear it is a superior solution, and while that is true from a technical standpoint, it still lacks the simplicity needed to increase adoption. Now, perhaps what the user is looking for isn’t privacy or security, but anonymity, pure and hard. Opening an email account with fake data takes less than five minutes, and there are also services that generate temporary email addresses whose content disappears after 24 or 48 hours. Another extra alternative we can add to the list is BlankStamp.
BlankStamp doesn’t need a local email client. It works fine with online services such as Gmail and Outlook (Hotmail).
How BlankStamp works
How does BlankStamp work? It’s simpler than it seems: say you want to send an email to “manuel@hotmail.com”. If you use a traditional mail client or a web client, your name and address will appear in the message. However, BlankStamp suggests you use it as a “man in the middle”, slightly transforming the address, in this case “manuel_at007_hotmail.com@blankstamp.io”. The original at sign is replaced by “_at007_”, and blankstamp.io acts as the domain. The email will reach the correct recipient, but instead of seeing your real name, they’ll see an address made up of a long string of numbers and letters, accompanied by the title “BlankStamp Incognito Mailer”. The most interesting aspect of BlankStamp is that our theoretical “manuel@hotmail.com” can reply to that same anonymous address without any issues. The latency BlankStamp adds to email delivery is only a few seconds.
Anonymous chat and limitations
Another BlankStamp feature is starting anonymous chat sessions, with the difference that the user must enter the [incogchat] parameter as the email subject. The recipient will receive an invitation, and its creator will get a fictitious name with a randomly chosen country. The messages are not saved in any case, while chat rooms disappear after 24 hours. To prevent abuse, and at the same time exploit its commercial value, BlankStamp allows a maximum of five anonymous emails per week, and anyone who wants to send more must purchase “credits” on the service. Additionally, the recipient can indicate that they don’t want to receive any kind of message or invitation from BlankStamp (after the fifth block, the account of whoever bought the credits is suspended). As a closing note, it’s necessary to emphasize that BlankStamp doesn’t replace encrypted email. Its priority is to maintain anonymity between two people, nothing more.
