Comment by avaika

> Now, I am not going around giving my real email out to random sites, though, although even that doesn’t strike me as particularly dangerous.

I am fanatically following my rule "one email per website". Obviously, they all route to the same inbox. Initial motivation was to see who leaks my address and simply block it. However, the separation helped me out tremendously more than I ever expected (at the very least I believe so).

I'm originally from a country with a highly oppressive regime. Years ago I signed up for financial support to a political opposition leader. Things weren't as bad and it felt safe enough at the time. They had my email, of course.

Eventually opposition systems were compromised, and the full donor list became public. The regime's response: they cross-referenced it against emails registered on government services. For quite a few whose addresses matched, police officers paid a visit — looking for grounds to fine them, pressure them, etc.

My alias for that site existed nowhere else. No match, no visit. Definitely an experience I was more than happy to avoid.