Firefox Relay

Firefox Relay is a privacy service that puts masked email addresses and, on paid plans, phone numbers between your real contact details and online sign-ups. It suits people who want disposable, controllable contact points, particularly Firefox users who value tracker stripping and password-manager integration. The free tier is a credible starting point for light email use, but its five-mask ceiling and attachment restriction limit heavier workflows.

Overview

Relay forwards messages, calls, and texts sent to masks while keeping your actual address or number hidden. Each mask can be tied to a particular site or purpose, making it easier to identify a source of spam and shut that address down without changing your primary contact details. Mozilla has maintained the project since 1998, and Relay is offered as a freemium service.

Privacy is not absolute: Relay records which websites have used your masks and links those sites to the masks, although you can opt out of that collection in settings. During an outage, the service may hold emails temporarily, with a stated maximum of three days. A support site and contact option are provided when assistance is needed.

Key features

Relay's dashboard lets you create and label masks, then block calls, texts, or emails from masks that attract excessive spam. That per-mask control is useful for registrations, newsletters, and retailers where you want an easy way to cut off one leaking address. Forwarded emails have common trackers removed, adding protection beyond simple aliasing.

Premium subscribers can answer a forwarded email for up to three months after it arrives. The feature is narrower than a normal mailbox: adding CC or BCC exposes your original email address, so replies must stay one-to-one when anonymity matters. Premium promotional blocking can stop marketing mail, but it may also block important messages, and blocked mail cannot be recovered. Users who cannot risk missing account notices should leave that control off.

Relay will not forward attachments larger than 10 MB. That is acceptable for ordinary sign-up correspondence, but a poor match for services that routinely send larger documents. Masks can be generated from other browsers and mobile devices by signing in to the web dashboard. Firefox Password Manager can generate or reuse masks directly from email fields, and the Relay extension listing includes Firefox for Android.

Pricing

Limited email protection — free. This plan includes five email masks, the browser extension, and email tracker removal. It is the sensible choice for occasional sign-ups and users who can keep their aliases within a small fixed allowance; exceeding five masks means deleting or reusing one rather than expanding the quota.

Email protection — custom pricing; billed Join the waitlist. It raises the allowance to unlimited email masks and adds promotional email blocking, a custom Relay email domain, and anonymous email replies, while retaining the extension and tracker removal. It fits users who need many aliases and reply capability, but the waitlist makes access less immediate and the blocking and reply caveats still apply.

Add VPN protection — custom pricing; billed monthly and Join the waitlist. This includes the Email protection features plus a phone mask and Mozilla VPN access. Choose it only if both masked calling and VPN service justify a recurring charge; the price is not published.

Email & phone protection — custom pricing; billed monthly and Join the waitlist. It supplies unlimited email masks, anonymous replies, a phone mask, promotional blocking, a custom domain, the extension, and tracker removal. It omits Mozilla VPN access, making it the focused option for users who want broader contact masking without the VPN bundle. Relay does not offer custom domains on its own outside the plan feature set, and paid availability is limited to countries shown on its pricing page; free Relay is offered in most countries.

Platforms

Relay is available on Android, iOS, the web, and as a browser extension. Dashboard sign-in supports mask creation on browsers and mobile devices beyond the extension's primary context, while Firefox Password Manager integration is particularly convenient for Firefox users.

Who it's for

Choose Relay for privacy-conscious sign-ups, newsletter separation, and disposable addresses that can be labelled or blocked individually. It is strongest for people already using Firefox and needing a small number of aliases at no cost. Look elsewhere if you need attachments above 10 MB, guaranteed delivery of every promotional message, CC/BCC anonymity, or immediate access to paid features without a waitlist.

Pros and cons

• Pros: five free email masks with tracker removal; dashboard controls for labelling and blocking noisy masks; phone masking and anonymous replies on paid tiers; Firefox Password Manager integration.
• Cons: the free plan stops at five masks; attachments over 10 MB are not forwarded; promotional blocking can permanently discard important mail; CC or BCC in a premium reply reveals your real address; paid plans use custom pricing and a waitlist.

Alternatives

For a wider comparison, see Email Alias Services and Mobile Browser Software.

• addy.io is a better fit if you want unlimited standard aliases on a free plan, API and self-hosting options, and 10 active shared-domain aliases.
• DuckDuckGo Email Protection suits readers who want a completely free service with forwarding, tracker removal, and personal and private Duck Addresses across more platforms.
• MailPal is an alternative for users who prefer a free, auditable open-source project.
• SimpleLogin is worth choosing for a free tier with 10 aliases, a trial option, and open-source, self-hostable components.
• anon.li offers a free 10-email plan for readers seeking an open-source alias service.
• AliasVault is aimed at users who want aliases alongside password management, a built-in 2FA authenticator, and offline mode.
• 33Mail fits light alias use with a free Lite plan and a $1-per-month Premium tier.
• Alias Email is another freemium extension and web option with 10 free aliases and one custom domain.

Verdict

Firefox Relay is a strong choice for Firefox-oriented users who need straightforward masked email addresses, tracker removal, and the ability to disable spam-heavy aliases. Its free five-mask plan handles modest privacy needs well. Choose another service if you require larger attachment forwarding, unrestricted free aliases, reliable recovery of blocked mail, or paid phone and reply features without joining a waitlist.