Insights on email privacy & productivity.
Tips, guides, and deep dives from the Cleanbox team.
What Is a Mail Relay and How Does It Work
A beginner-friendly explanation of mail relays - what they are, why they exist, how they fit into the SMTP chain, and the different types of relays used in modern email infrastructure. Understand the technology that sits between the internet and your mailbox.
What Are Transactional Emails and Why They Matter More Than Marketing
Order confirmations, password resets, shipping updates - transactional emails are the ones you actually need. How they differ from marketing, why they get special treatment, and how to protect them.
Email Overload Is Real: The Hidden Cost of an Unmanaged Inbox
The average professional spends 28 minutes per day on email triage. Here is the data on what that costs and a concrete plan to fix it.
Email Account Compromises: How They Happen and How to Prevent Them
Compromised email accounts are surging. How attackers get in, the warning signs, and the two things that stop almost all of them.
How Cleanbox Filters Work Under the Hood
A deep dive into the filter engine: 10 condition types, 12 operators, rule groups with boolean logic, and how filters interact with contact states and spam scoring.
Is Gmail Good Enough for Business Email? What You Risk by Staying
A free Gmail address costs nothing upfront but sends a message to clients, partners, and spam filters. Here is what you risk by using @gmail.com for business and how to upgrade without starting from scratch.
What Is TLS in Email and How Does It Protect Your Messages
TLS is the encryption standard that protects your emails in transit. Learn how TLS works in email, what STARTTLS does, the difference between opportunistic and enforced TLS, and what TLS does not protect.
Google Shielded Email: What It Is and How It Compares to Email Aliasing
Google Shielded Email brings auto-generated forwarding addresses to Gmail and Android. Here is what we know about the feature, what it means for email privacy, and how it compares to independent alias services.
Choosing the Right Spam Threshold: A Data-Driven Guide
What spam score should you set? We break down the sweet spots by use case, risk tolerance, and email type, with a decision framework you can apply to every alias.
How Phishers Bypass SPF and DKIM: Attack Techniques Explained
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are the backbone of email authentication, but attackers have developed sophisticated techniques to slip past them. From cousin domains and subdomain delegation abuse to DKIM replay attacks and unicode homoglyphs, here is how phishers actually bypass your defenses.
Proton Mail Aliases Explained and How They Compare to Dedicated Services
Proton Mail includes built-in email aliases, but they work differently from dedicated alias services like SimpleLogin or Cleanbox. Compare privacy, control, and flexibility side by side.
What Happens to Your Data When You Create an Online Account
Every time you enter your email and click Sign Up, your data begins a journey from a single database to analytics platforms, marketing partners, ad networks, and data brokers. Here is exactly what happens at each step and how to protect yourself.
