Personal Identity obfuscation

Here’s how you can use ProtonMail securely and strategically, especially given that your Gmail is widely tied to SSO and mainstream identity, and you’re exploring hacker forums, threat research, or darker corners of the web:

✅ Why Use ProtonMail (and When)

Use Case	How ProtonMail Helps
Separation of Identity	Keep your ProtonMail fully separate from your Gmail identity—no linking, cross-forwarding, or sharing the same phone number for recovery.
Privacy-Respecting Communication	Use ProtonMail for sensitive inquiries, bug bounty reports, or anything where you'd prefer not to expose your Gmail/real-world persona.
Dark Web or Hacker Forum Research	Use ProtonMail when registering for security-focused forums, newsletters, or even access to threat intel platforms. Some groups require non-Google emails.
Controlled SSO	Avoid using ProtonMail for SSO; instead, use it for services that require anonymity, compartmentalization, or high privacy (e.g., VPNs, whistleblower platforms, alt accounts for testing).
Job Applications in Cybersecurity	You can even use ProtonMail as your "security pro" email to signal privacy-mindedness (e.g., `[email protected]`). It comes across as thoughtful.

🔐 Best Practices

Do NOT link your ProtonMail to your Gmail—no forwarding, recovery address, or shared identifiers.
Use a strong, unique password and enable 2FA (ProtonMail supports TOTP apps like Authy or Aegis).
Avoid using your ProtonMail for casual registrations (shopping, gaming, etc.)—keep it for privacy/infosec-related activity only.
Consider pairing it with ProtonVPN or another privacy-first VPN when accessing hacker forums or conducting OSINT/dark web research.
Be careful not to expose your ProtonMail on public sites where it could be harvested—create aliases if needed (Proton supports this on paid plans).

🚧 When Not to Use ProtonMail

Avoid using it with services or platforms that already track heavily (e.g., Facebook, Instagram) unless you're creating a clean, separate persona.
Don’t use ProtonMail for single sign-on logins (Google SSO, Microsoft SSO, etc.)—it defeats the purpose of using it as a compartmentalized identity.

🛠️ Optional Add-ons

Use SimpleLogin (owned by Proton) for aliasing and masking your ProtonMail when signing up for forums or test sites.
Use a secure notes app or password manager (like Bitwarden or Proton Pass) to manage accounts tied to that email.