Deactivating an alias is the first thing to reach for when spam starts coming through one. It's faster than deleting, and reversible.
How to toggle an alias
On the alias card, there's a toggle switch — green means active, grey means off. Click it once to switch. There's no confirmation step, it's immediate.
In list view the toggle is on the right side of each row. On the alias detail page it's at the top next to the alias address.
What happens when you deactivate
Emails sent to a deactivated alias bounce back to the sender. They get a standard delivery failure notice — nothing that reveals your identity or that AliasFleet is involved. From the sender's side it just looks like the address doesn't exist.
Your alias itself stays in your account, with all its history and settings intact. Nothing is lost.
What happens when you reactivate
Flip the toggle back on and the alias starts working again immediately. Any emails sent while it was off are gone — we don't queue them up. But from the moment you reactivate, new emails come through as normal.
When to deactivate vs delete
Deactivate when:
- You're getting spam through an alias and want to stop it quickly
- You want to pause an alias temporarily (seasonal sign-up, event, etc.)
- You're not sure whether you'll need it again
Delete when:
- You're certain you'll never need that address again
- You want to clean up your alias list
- You've already replaced it with a new alias for the same purpose
Deletion is permanent — see Deleting an alias for what that means.