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I don't know if this is possible, but I would like to disguise/encrypt the recipient's email address where an email is received via a mailto parameter on either an href tag or an input form. Does anyone have any ideas as to how this might be acheived?

Dave.

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asked about disguising/encrypting a recipient address embedded in a mailto (href or form) and pointed to a client-side resource. Client-side masking can slow basic harvesters, but any address present or easily reconstructed in the page source is discoverable. There is no practical client-side "encryption" that reliably hides an address from determined scrapers.

The pragmatic, long-term approach is to avoid embedding the real address in client-side markup. Use a server-side contact endpoint that accepts form input and sends mail from the server; this keeps the recipient address out of the HTML and allows server-side controls (input validation, rate limiting, honeypot fields, logging). Pair that with disposable or aliased addresses (plus-addressing or per-site aliases) so compromised addresses can be disabled without code changes. Add an anti-abuse layer such as a CAPTCHA or similar service to reduce automated misuse (Google reCAPTCHA). For address management, see provider plus-addressing options (for example, ).

Quick operational checks: fetch the page with a tool like curl and search the raw HTML to confirm the address is not present; verify no hidden fields or responses leak it; monitor outbound volume to spot abuse. Client-side obfuscation is useful as a mild deterrent, but real protection comes from server-side design and address hygiene.

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Thanks Michael, looks just the job.

Dave.

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