Pause and Resume: The Smarter Alternative to Deleting Your Email Alias

Deleting an alias is final. If you still might need that address later, pause is the safer tool.

What Pausing an Alias Does

When you pause an alias in MyShield, forwarding stops immediately. The alias remains attached to your account, but new mail sent to it is no longer forwarded to your inbox until you resume it.

That makes pause useful when:

• a sender is noisy, but you may still want mail from them later
• a project or event is dormant, not finished forever
• you want to stop traffic without giving up the address

Pause vs Delete

Use pause when you want to keep the alias reserved for future use.

Use delete when you are certain you never want mail through that address again.

The difference matters because deleting removes the alias from active use entirely, while pausing keeps it under your control for later reactivation.

What Happens to Mail Sent While an Alias Is Paused

MyShield does not queue paused-alias mail for later delivery. If someone sends to an alias while it is paused, you should assume that message will not reach you.

Whether the sender retries, bounces, or silently gives up depends on the sending system and the delivery path involved. That is outside your control, so pause should be treated as a real stop, not a "hold this for me later" mailbox mode.

For that reason, avoid pausing aliases tied to:

• password resets
• one-time login codes
• urgent customer communication
• active order confirmations

Good Uses for Pause

Seasonal retailers

You still shop there, but you do not want their campaigns between purchases.

Event registrations

You want updates during the event cycle, but not ongoing follow-up mail afterward.

Dormant business contacts

You want to keep a role-based address available, but stop the current flow for now.

Good Uses for Delete

Delete is better when:

• the alias was used once and is no longer needed
• the sender is abusive or obviously spammy
• the address was exposed and you want it permanently dead

Plan Availability

Pause and resume is available on Pro and Business plans.

Upgrade to Pro →