Insights on email privacy & productivity.
Tips, guides, and deep dives from the Cleanbox team.
Why We Built Relay: The Problem with Traditional MX Gateways
Traditional email gateways treat every address the same. Relay was designed from scratch with per-address control, SRS forwarding, and crowd-sourced reputation.
Email Encryption Explained: TLS vs PGP vs S/MIME
Three encryption technologies, three different problems solved. TLS encrypts the connection. PGP encrypts the message. S/MIME does both with certificates. Here is when you need which.
Why We Created Shield: Your Inbox Should Respect Your Schedule
You should decide when email arrives, how much of it, and from whom. Shield gives every alias its own rate limiter, delivery schedule, and sender approval list.
What Is an Email Header? A Beginner's Guide with Real Examples
You have seen "Show original" in Gmail but never clicked it. Here is what email headers are, what they reveal, and how to use them to verify a sender or diagnose a delivery problem - explained simply.
What Happens When You Click Unsubscribe: The Full Technical Story
List-Unsubscribe headers, one-click POST requests, tracking pixels, preference centers, and CAN-SPAM compliance - the surprisingly complex machinery behind the unsubscribe button.
Anatomy of a Sextortion Email: How These Scams Work and Why They Keep Coming
Sextortion emails are one of the most psychologically manipulative scams in circulation. They claim to have webcam footage, include your real password as proof, and demand Bitcoin. Here is exactly how they work, why they include real credentials, and why you should never pay.
How to Organize a Cluttered Inbox in 5 Steps
You have 10,000 unread emails. Here is a realistic plan to get to inbox zero and stay there - using filters, categories, and smart rules.
Auto-Block Repeat Offenders: Building a Contact Management Bot
Build a script that automatically blocks contacts who send too much spam, whitelists trusted senders, and keeps your contact list clean. Python implementation with the Cleanbox API.
Does a VPN Protect Your Email - What You Need to Know
VPNs encrypt your connection but leave email content and metadata exposed. What a VPN actually protects, what it misses, and what works better.
How to Find Out Who Sold Your Email Address
The alias detective method - how using a unique email per service reveals exactly who leaked your data, plus what to do about it.
Invoice Fraud: How Scammers Forge Emails to Steal Payments
Invoice fraud is a form of business email compromise that costs organizations billions each year. Attackers intercept real email threads, modify bank details on legitimate invoices, and redirect payments to accounts they control. Here is how these attacks work and how to stop them.
Building a Disposable Email Generator with the Cleanbox API
Build a web app that creates temporary email aliases on the fly, monitors incoming messages, and self-destructs after use. Full Node.js implementation with working API calls.
