What “pausing” actually does
A Firefox Relay mask is an address that forwards mail to your real inbox. The closest thing to pausing it is the email-blocking control in the Relay dashboard: expand the mask and move the slider from None to All. Mail to that mask then stops being forwarded. Moving the slider back to None resumes forwarding.
In the Relay dashboard, expand the mask and move the email-blocking slider from None to All to stop forwarding; moving it back to None resumes forwarding. Source
That is a forwarding switch, not an account switch. Nothing about the services you signed up for changes when you block the mask: the accounts still exist, and they still treat the mask address as your login identity. The brief for this article asks for exactly that distinction, and the reviewed claims support only the forwarding behavior, not any effect on third-party accounts.
Before you pause: inventory recovery paths
A password reset usually goes to whatever address the service has on file. If that address is the mask, blocking forwarding can cut off the reset email while you are still signed out. Before touching the slider, build a short list.
| Check | Why it matters | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| Which accounts use this mask as their login email | These are the accounts that depend on forwarded mail | Service name and the email on file |
| Which of those send password resets to it | A reset you cannot receive is a lockout risk | Whether the service offers another verified route |
| Whether you have a working password or passkey now | Reduces the chance you need a reset mid-pause | Current sign-in method per account |
| Any service where the mask is the only contact | These are the highest-risk entries | Whether a backup address can be added first |
| Any account you plan to close | Closure should be finished before you cut its mail | Status of each closure |
Two practical rules follow from this list. First, if a service lets you add or change a recovery address, do that before you block the mask, and confirm the change from the new address. Second, keep a recovery method you control until any closure is complete; do not remove the last working route and then block forwarding.
After you pause: what to expect
Once the slider is at All, new mail addressed to the mask is not forwarded. Anything already delivered to your real inbox stays there. Messages sent while forwarding is blocked are not something the reviewed claims describe as queued or replayed, so do not assume you will receive them later.
When you are ready, move the slider back to None. Forwarding resumes for new mail. If you paused because of unwanted messages, expect that the underlying sender still has the mask address; resuming forwarding can bring that traffic back.
Failure boundaries to plan around
- Blocking is not deletion. Cutting off forwarding does not close the service account, and it does not remove data the service already stores. An edited or empty profile elsewhere does not establish deletion either.
- Spam reports can change the state for you. Marking a forwarded message as spam can automatically disable forwarding for that mask. Mozilla says an email notification is sent and the mask can be re-enabled.
Marking a forwarded message as spam can automatically disable forwarding for that mask; Mozilla says an email notification is sent and the mask can be re-enabled. Source
- A reset you cannot receive is not proof the account is gone. Treat a missing reset email as a delivery problem to diagnose, not as evidence about the account’s status.
- Re-enabling is a forwarding action, not a recovery action. It restores mail flow; it does not restore access to an account whose credentials you have lost.
- This article does not cover free-mask limits. Official pages on those limits currently conflict, so plan around the controls described here rather than a quota.
Where a username lookup fits, and where it does not
If you are trying to work out which public profiles are associated with a handle, a username search can surface public matches. TraceSeek covers 3,000+ platforms and offers a free first scan that the product describes as taking 20-30 seconds. It cannot operate Relay settings, read your inbox, or confirm ownership of an account. A public username match is a lead, not proof that the same person controls the mask or the login.
Use the lookup, if at all, as a separate step: it helps you notice public profiles you may have forgotten, which can feed the inventory above. It does not tell you which services send password resets to the mask, and it is not a complete account inventory.
A short recap
Pause forwarding with the Relay slider, not by deleting anything. Inventory every service that sends resets to the mask, secure alternative recovery routes first, and only then block mail. Resume with the same slider, and remember that a spam report can disable forwarding on its own.