# How Anonymous Is Hotmail? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 12, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-anonymous-is-hotmail/148199 "2003-01-12T22:26:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-anonymous-is-hotmail/148199/1 "2003-01-12T22:26:07Z")
I know that Joe Computer-User cannot find the originator of a Hotmail message. What about Joan Computer-Expert? Or her little sister, HackerGirl? Could either of them somehow get the IP address of the sender of a hotmail message? What about Microsoft? Could they get that info (pursuant to a subpoena for example)? The FBI? Cecil? ---
**Author:** ![Walton\_Firm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/45deac/32.png) [@Walton\_Firm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walton_Firm)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-anonymous-is-hotmail/148199/2 "2003-01-12T22:49:20Z")
Every Hotmail message contains a field named X-Originating-IP, which contains exactly what the name suggests. Even Joe Computer-User should be able to read that field, if Joan takes a few seconds to show him how to use the “show full headers” function of his e-mail program (I’ve never seen a mailer without that function). So no, Hotmail messages are not very anonymous. ---
**Author:** ![flyboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4da419/32.png) [@flyboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyboy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-anonymous-is-hotmail/148199/3 "2003-01-12T23:23:20Z")
Does using a dial-up modem affect your IP? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-anonymous-is-hotmail/148199/4 "2003-01-12T23:24:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by shelbo \* > What about Microsoft? Could they get that info (pursuant to a subpoena for example)? Microsoft owns HotMail. Have you read the Terms & Conditions of your account? You just might be _very surprised_ what Microsoft can do with your account and your privacy. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-anonymous-is-hotmail/148199/5 "2003-01-12T23:27:31Z")
They can be as anonymous as Joe User can get without getting into more hi-tech things like spoofing your address or jumping through several stations in different parts of the country. Provided he puts in the effort, of course. Joe User can go to a library, a cyber cafe, kinko’s, or any other anonymous place to send his messages. That makes it much more difficult to track him down. And as long as he’s careful never to use it for personal e-mail, from his home, or any other use that would link it to him, then Mr. User would have a reasonable expectation of anonymity. ---
**Author:** ![Walton\_Firm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/45deac/32.png) [@Walton\_Firm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walton_Firm)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-anonymous-is-hotmail/148199/6 "2003-01-13T00:01:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by flyboy88 \* > \*\*Does using a dial-up modem affect your IP? \*\* When using dial-up, the IP address is yours only for as long as you stay on-line. When you log off, it goes back into the pool to be given out to the next dial-up user. The next time you dial in, you will likely get another address from the pool. So the recipient of your Hotmail message would know who your provider is, but if that provider has set up their system properly then it should be difficult to single out your user account without a subpoena. Here’s an interesting article: [http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,44567,00.html](http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,44567,00.html) > [@](#): > > Christine Gunhus, the wife of a U.S. senator who ran unsuccessfully for re-election in 2000, pleaded no contest last week to charges of using a pseudonym to unlawfully send e-mail messages that disparaged her husband’s Democratic rival. […] > > Gunhus is accused of using a Hotmail account (Katie Stevens – [kylomb@hotmail.com](mailto:kylomb@hotmail.com)) to send the disparaging mails, which talked about how Ciresi had represented corporate polluters and anti-union companies. But Hotmail includes an X-Originating-IP header that shows the IP address of the sender – a problem if you’re typing it from the opposing campaign’s computer. […] > > Apparently, the person using the “Katie Stevens” pseudonym was cautious at first, sending the mail from a Kinkos store, but then got sloppy. […] The article also goes into detail about the fact that Microsoft Word documents can reveal a lot more about the writer than you might think. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-anonymous-is-hotmail/148199/7 "2003-01-13T04:52:53Z")
If you want to be even more anonymous, just hook up a laptop with a wireless network card and go roaming around a neighbourhood a couple of miles from your house until you find an open network and post from there. Virtually impossible to track down. ---
**Author:** ![SC\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@SC\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SC_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-anonymous-is-hotmail/148199/8 "2003-01-13T13:07:39Z")
Another suggestion is a combination of [http://www.anonymizer.com/](http://www.anonymizer.com/) and Hotmail. ---
**Author:** ![Badge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Badge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badge)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-anonymous-is-hotmail/148199/9 "2003-01-13T14:40:26Z")
And yes, law enforcement can get what information hotmail has by use of a subpoena.