Meet Nicole M. from EmailOnDeck

EmailOnDeck was founded on the belief that you shouldn't have to give your personal email address to anyone who demands it. It was built by a few privacy-minded engineers with extensive backgrounds in email/SMTP systems and software. EmailOnDeck provides free temporary email addresses for everyone to use. Learn more by visiting: https://www.emailondeck.com.

1. What was the inspiration behind starting EmailOnDeck?

We feel that the internet is becoming a place where every site seems to be demanding your personal information just to access the site. We still believe that the internet is like your local library: what you research and learn about online is nobody's business but your own. More practically, there's an issue of providing your personal email address to a web site you've just visited for the first time. A common concern is: "What will this website do with my personal email if I give it to them?" Websites frequently sell your email address, and ultimately that can lead to one receiving SPAM which could include viruses and phishing emails. We built this service in hopes of allowing one to help retain and protect their online privacy.

2. What sets this project apart from other free email providers?

EmailOnDeck proactively focuses on providing you with temporary emails that work. With access to a large domain pool, EmailOnDeck can create a greater variety of temporary email address increasing the difficulty of advertisers tracking you online. EmailOnDeck also provides you with your own private temporary email inbox; it is not a public inbox for all to view. Finally, once you are done with your temporary email address, it will automatically be securely wiped and all emails securely erased in order to ensure your privacy.

3. When are the times that someone might want to use a temporary email, instead of something like a "backup" email aside from their primary one?

Any website that asks for your email before letting you visit or view their site. This is a great way to protect yourself from untrustworthy sites. Once you get comfortable with a website, then you can decide if you would like to provide your personal email address to them.

Interestingly, though, I actually like to point out when it's not a good time to use a temporary email address. If you're going to be giving a company your credit card number or mailing address, using a temporary email can actually make things more difficult. First of all, they have your personal information, so you're not really being much more private. Secondly, if the company needs to send you an email to confirm your purchase or subscription in a few months, you would no longer have access to that temporary email.

4. How do you keep your service available for free?

Since we're constantly securely wiping emails, our storage costs are very low. We do place non-intrusive ads on certain pages of the web site. We also have plans to provide a paid "pro" version that's ad-free and provides more convenient features. More on that soon...

5. In addition to using a temporary email address, what else do people need to do to protect their privacy when using their computers, tablets, and phones?

If you can clear your cookies and cache after you're done browsing the web, that would be your first basic step. If you are willing to learn (just a bit) about blocking javascript, you can really increase your security by using a browser extension called NoScript. And finally, check out Privacy.com for a way to create virtual credit cards--very cool because vendors will never have access to your actual credit card. This is a life-saver for anyone that has ever been a victim of credit card fraud.

Thanks, Nicole!

A New Invention for Public Restrooms

Public restrooms are one of those helpful yet infrequently discussed necessities of the world. I mean, why would you want to initiate a conversation about restrooms? To take that idea a bit farther, upon leaving a public restroom, how hard is it to actually say something to a coworker or business acquaintance or a stranger, even when you might want to give someone a polite warning to "wait a moment before entering"? I'd say it's one of those situations where people just pretend it isn't happening, and that doesn't spare anyone any embarrassment.

A Swedish company called Ixbari Solutions has come up with an invention called WC-Avoider that allows people to discreetly notify others to avoid a "recently used" restroom. We've all seen the indicators on restroom doors that indicate "Vacant" or "Occupied." The WC-Avoider offers a third setting, "Recently Used."

Upon exiting a restroom, a person would have the option of pressing a button or turning a handle inside the restroom door to activate the "Recently Used" setting, thus avoiding the situation of either making an awkward announcement or simply ignoring the issue.

While this invention could be used in public restrooms in all sorts of settings, I think it could be especially useful in the workplace. People spend more and more time working at all hours, and this invention helps restore a little more of a sense of privacy among coworkers.