The core "Email Cloaking" plugin has a couple of issues and shortcomings. Email Protector by Regular Labs, instead, solves all of these issues:
No more JavaScript issues
The core email cloaking plugin solely relies on JavaScript to cloak the email addresses, which means that if the JavaScript fails for whatever reason, you cannot see the email address at all.
Email Protector cloaks the email addresses in a different manner which solves this issue.
It uses both CSS and JavaScript to cloak the email addresses. When JavaScript fails to load, it will still display the email address to the visitor, but in a cloaked manner.
Not only in articles
The core email cloaking plugin is a content plugin. This means it only works in articles and content that is specifically passed through the content plugins. As a result this often means that email addresses in modules and 3rd party extensions are not cloaked.
Email Protector is a system plugin and is written in a way that it will cloak email addresses anywhere in your entire website - so also in modules, components and 3rd party extensions.
Leave it like it is
The core email cloaking plugin has the option to convert all email addresses to mailto links or display them as plain text.
Email Protector has an extra (default) setting to leave the email addresses as you create them in the content.
So if the email address is a mailto link, it leaves it as a link. And when it is only text, it will leave it like that.
Feature Comparison
Email Protector by Regular Labs offers several advantages compared to the Joomla core "Email Cloaking" plugin.
Here is a table that compares the features of the core plugin with Email Protector:
| Feature | Core Plugin | Email Protector | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Included in Joomla | FREE | PRO € 39 | |
| Cloak email addresses inside articles | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Display email addresses as mailto links or plain text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cloak email addresses throughout modules, third-party components, and template output | No | Yes | Yes |
| Leave mailto links and plain-text addresses as originally entered | No | Yes | Yes |
| Keep addresses readable when JavaScript fails or is disabled | No | Yes | Yes |
| Image-based cloaking | No | No | Yes |
| Custom-text cloaking | No | No | Yes |
| Control protection inside inline JavaScript | No | Yes | Yes |
| Feed output | No separate settings | Fixed [AT] / [DOT] | No protection, [AT] / [DOT], or custom text |
| PDF output | No separate settings | Fixed [AT] / [DOT] | No protection, [AT] / [DOT], or custom text |
| JSON output | No separate settings | Fixed [AT] / [DOT] | No protection, [AT] / [DOT], or custom text |
| Access to Support Tickets | No | No | Yes |
| Included in Joomla | FREE | PRO € 39 | |