Getting started: your first protected email in 5 minutes

Ready to take control of your inbox? In just a few minutes, you'll have your first Cleanbox alias up and running — protecting your real email address from spam, trackers, and data breaches.

Step 1: Create your account

Head over to my.cleanbox.app/register and fill in your name, email address, and a strong password. You'll receive a verification email — click the link inside to activate your account.

Once verified, log in and you'll land on your dashboard.

Step 2: Connect your mailbox

Before creating aliases, you need to connect the mailbox where you want to receive your emails.

• Click Mailboxes in the sidebar
• Click the Add Mailbox button
• Choose IMAP as the connection type
• Enter your email provider's IMAP details: server host, port, and password
• Click Test Connection to make sure everything works
• Once the test passes, click Save

Not sure what your IMAP details are? Check our IMAP connection details per provider article for settings for Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and other popular providers.

Step 3: Create your first alias

Now for the fun part — creating your first protected email alias.

• Click Aliases in the sidebar
• Click the Create Alias button
• Choose a random name (generated for you) or type in a custom name of your choice
• Select the mailbox you just connected as the destination
• Click Create

That's it — your alias is live and ready to receive email.

Step 4: Use your alias

Now use your new alias anywhere you'd normally give out your real email address. Try it with:

• A newsletter signup
• A new website account
• An online purchase

When email arrives at your alias, Cleanbox processes it through its spam filter and forwards the clean messages straight to your real inbox. You never have to expose your actual email address.

Step 5: Check your messages

Want to see what Cleanbox is doing behind the scenes?

• Click Messages in the sidebar
• You'll see every email that Cleanbox has processed
• Each message shows the sender info, spam score, and delivery status

This gives you full visibility into what's arriving, what's being filtered, and what made it to your inbox.

What’s next?

You've got the basics down — here are a few ways to get even more out of Cleanbox:

• Shield — add extra protection to your aliases with rate limiting, quiet hours, and sender whitelisting
• Filters — set up custom rules to automatically sort or reject messages based on your own criteria
• More aliases — create separate aliases for shopping, social media, work signups, and anything else. If one starts getting spam, simply deactivate it without affecting the rest

The more aliases you use, the more control you have. Welcome to Cleanbox!