Most websites and apps require users to sign up with an email address to access their service. While this may seem innocuous, sharing your email with one too many platforms can expose you to a deluge of spam messages and threaten your privacy.
A temporary email address allows you to escape spam and ensures your personal data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. We assessed several providers to determine the best temporary email services, and these are our top picks:
- Temp Mail: Popular and straightforward
- Gmailnator: Generates temporary Gmail addresses
- Guerilla Mail: Offers customizable addresses
- EmailOnDeck: Straightforward and allows you to send messages
- Maildrop: Clean interface and customizable usernames
- Addy.io: Supports up to 10 messages in your inbox
- INTERNXT: Free temporary email service
- Mailinator: Tests email delivery and receipts
- 10 Minute Mail: Short-term disposable email addresses
- FakeMail: Supports domains for up to two weeks
- YOPMail: Includes a random email generator
- ThrowAwayMail: Offers private burner emails
While using a burner email can help you stay safe online, its not enough to protect your privacy. We recommend also using other security tools like a VPN. VPNs will protect your personal information, such as your IP address, which can reveal your location and be used to target you with ads online.
If you’re interested in learning more about the best temporary email services, read our full guide below.
Need to send an anonymous email? Want to keep your personal inbox free of annoying spam? We tested all the throwaway email services available today and rounded up the twelve best temporary email websites in this article.
A temporary email address is useful when you’re hesitant to use your personal email address. If you either don’t trust a platform, only use it sparingly, or want to access it anonymously, then the situation calls for a disposable email.
Temporary emails also help avoid the risks of sharing your email address, such as getting exposed to unwanted spam, targeted adverts, and infected links and email attachments.
Keep reading to learn more about temporary email services!
Top 12 Best Temporary Email Services of 2023
To come up with a shortlist of the best temporary email services on the internet, we assessed factors such as ease of use and security. We also considered whether these platforms are free and if they require any form of registration.
Let’s jump into the best burner email services of the moment!
1. Temp Mail: Free professional-looking disposable email addresses
Website: Temp Mail
Features:
- Free, easy, and straightforward to use
- No registration
- Professional throwaway emails
- Deletes emails after 24 hours
Temp Mail is one of the best temporary email services available today. We picked it as our top throwaway email because it’s really easy to use — no password, registration, or payment required. All you have to do is visit the website and copy the randomly generated email address.
Temp Mail’s addresses rarely get blocked. Its disposable emails could easily pass for professional emails, as they have an actual username and domain address. Compare this with the random string of letters that form the username and domain name of most throwaway emails.
This disposable email service is completely free. You can get as many temp emails as you want with no payment. You can also get the premium version of Temp Mail, which costs $10 monthly or $60 annually. With Temp Mail Premium, you get up to 10 completely private addresses with custom domain names.
Temp Mail’s UI is clean and easy to use. When you scroll down, you’ll find an inbox where you’ll receive your emails. This inbox refreshes constantly, so you won’t miss any important messages.
Emails sent to the address are stored for two hours before being deleted, along with your IP address and other personal data.
Note:
It’s crucial to hide your IP address when using online services that claim to be free — even if they delete your IP address after some time. Your IP address reveals a lot about you, like your location, which can be used to target you with ads or sold to third parties.
For complete anonymity, hide your IP address using NordVPN, the best-performing VPN today. You can choose from over 5,000 IP addresses all over the world, so you never have to share your IP address with anyone ever again.
2. Gmailnator: Free temporary Gmail addresses
Website: Gmailnator
Features:
- Offers throwaway Gmail and domain-based addresses
- Bypasses the majority of throwaway email blockers
- Allows you to send individual or bulk emails at no cost
- Straightforward to use
Gmailnator (currently working from the domain ëmailnator.com) is a unique temporary email service. It provides free Gmail addresses, giving you a legitimate-looking email address. You can also create temp emails with other domains.
Gmailnator allows you to send individual and bulk emails and receive messages at no cost. This service is also an excellent solution for websites that block disposable emails. For instance, Steam has a filter for blocking disposable emails, as seen in the screenshot below.
In our test, Gmailnator’s temporary Gmail address bypassed Steam’s email filter.
However, note that the temporary email addresses Gmailnator provides are open to the public. Therefore, using them to send or receive private information isn’t advisable, as other people can view your messages.
Gmailnator also provides other types of emails. You can get a burner email that will self-destruct in ten minutes. And, if you need bulk email addresses, you can generate 100 to 1000 emails on this platform.
The biggest downside of Gmailnator is that it has many ads, and you have to switch off your ad blocker to access the service.
3. Guerrilla Mail: Customizable temporary addresses
Website: Guerrilla Mail
Features:
- Sends files that are up to 150 MB in size
- Scrambled addresses for your privacy
- Built-in password manager
- Your temp email is available unless you delete it
Guerrilla Mail is a popular temp email service that allows you to customize your email username and choose from around 11 domains.
You don’t need to register or provide personal details to access this service. Guerrilla Mail allows you to send and receive messages for free, and what’s more, its addresses never expire.
Your emails are kept for an hour before being deleted automatically. You can access your inbox at any time by providing your address.
Since anyone with your email ID can access your inbox, you have the option of using a scrambled address to send messages. This adds a layer of protection to your privacy. If you want to delete your address, click the Forget Me button.
In addition to providing temporary emails, Guerrilla Mail also doubles as a password manager. Guerrilla Mail says it does not store or transmit the passwords users generate. You can access your passwords by providing your Master Key.
However, we recommend opting for a reputable password manager instead. For only a few dollars a month, 1Password lets you create, store, and retrieve all your unique passwords. Get started by clicking the button below.
4. EmailOnDeck: Disposable addresses that work for several hours
Website: EmailOnDeck
Features:
- Throwaway emails are available for 24 hours
- EmailOnDeck Pro allows you to send emails anonymously
- Throwaway emails appear legitimate
EmailOnDeck is a straightforward temp email service designed to safeguard your privacy and stop the onslaught of spam.
You don’t need to sign up for disposable email services. You’ll only need to complete a CAPTCHA, then you’ll receive a burner email address. EmailOnDeck addresses look legit, too: the username and domain name are actual words, not random letters.
The biggest perk of EmailOnDeck is that its addresses are available for almost an entire day (unless you close your browser or clear your cookies).
The free version of EmailOnDeck is best suited for receiving emails from addresses you don’t trust. You can only use it to send emails to other EmailOnDeck accounts.
To send emails to non-EmailOnDeck addresses, you must sign up for EmailOnDeck Pro. The premium version of EmailOnDeck, which costs about 0.002796 BTC ($60), allows you to send bulk emails, create a custom address, save your favorite addresses, and do much more.
5. Maildrop: Temporary email with a good spam filter
Website: Maildrop
Features:
- Clean and simple user interface
- Custom throwaway email
- Inbox can hold up to ten emails
- Deletes your email after 24 hours of inactivity
Maildrop allows you to create a custom address with the maildrop.cc domain. The process is effortless; type in your desired username, and the temp email address is created automatically. When you create a Maildrop address, you also get an alias address.
Maildrop strongly advises against sending sensitive information using its service because anyone can access your inbox if they know your username.
Maildrop allows you to have up to ten messages in your inbox. If your Maildrop address does not receive any messages within 24 hours, it is automatically deleted.
Maildrop does a superb job of preventing spam emails from getting into your inbox. Its cloud-based antispam tool reportedly reduces spam by over 90 percent.
Unfortunately, since Maildrop uses a single domain (maildrop.cc), its email addresses are blocked easily. Our Maildrop address was blocked on Steam and Discord while testing this service.
6. Addy.io: A great email-forwarding platform
Website: Addy.io
Features:
- Allows custom domain names
- It filters and forwards important emails to your real address
- Allows unlimited alias addresses under one domain
- Offers a dashboard to track emails
Addy.io (formerly known as AnonAddy) is not like the other temporary email services above. We chose AnonDaddy for this position because it’s an email-forwarding platform.
To use Addy.io, you must create a unique subdomain and register with your email address. Once that’s done, you can create an unlimited number of alias addresses under your subdomain.
For instance, to register for Twitch, you could use an alias like twitch@yourusername.Addy.io. Every email sent to that address will be forwarded to your actual email. You can also forward emails to different recipients.
Addy.io helps you keep your actual email address hidden. This service is ideal for weeding out spammers and bothersome advertisers.
You can track emails from various aliases and block spammers on the Addy.io dashboard.
Addy.io has free and premium plans. The free plan will suffice if you need a burner email for a few sites. However, you need to subscribe to a premium plan for higher monthly bandwidth and custom domains.
7. INTERNXT: Private throwaway email address
Website: INTERNXT
Features:
- Private burner email address
- Free and easy to use
- Permanently deletes all emails
Internxt offers a free temporary email service for users. The generated burner address is available for your private use for as long as you’re using it. It will however disappear after three hours of inactivity.
We like that the generated email address is private. This means you’re the only one with access to its inbox. Your messages will only disappear after you delete them or stop using the burner email.
The temp email address the service generates is unique and we were able to register on several sites with it.
8. Mailinator: Bulk burner emails for developers
Website: Mailinator
Features:
- Unlimited throwaway email addresses
- Throwaway SMS service
- Free and paid tiers
- Multiple domain names for premium users
Mailinator is designed for developers, marketers, and QA testers who create systems and campaigns that deliver emails to thousands of people. Mailinator allows you to test email delivery and email receipts. You can also test the resiliency of your email systems without sending emails to actual users.
Mailinator is now focused on promoting its business plans on its homepage, so it’s easy to miss the free service. At the top-left corner, you can choose an email address of your choice with the domain @mailinator.com.
However, due to the popularity of the service and a single domain name, Mailinator is often blocked. In our experience, we used the address to register a new account on Discord, but we were not successful.
On the other hand, you can use Mailinator email addresses like yourname@mailinator.com in place of your real email address when communicating with others. We sent an email from our Gmail address to our Mailinator email and it showed up in the inbox in a couple of seconds.
9. 10 Minute Mail: Free short-term email addresses
Website: 10 Minute Mail
Features:
- Completely free of charge
- Perfect for quick and one-time use
- The email address is available for an extendable 10 minutes
10 Minute Mail is a disposable email address available for 10 minutes, and you can extend the time too if necessary. This is an excellent throwaway email service, and it’s straightforward and completely free.
When testing the service, we received a randomized email address with a string of letters as both the username and the domain name. So while 10 Minute Mail works great, keep in mind that your email address will obviously look like a temporary email.
What’s more, 10 Minute Mail is supposed to indicate when you get a new message. However, the message counter stood at zero when we received a new email the first time we tested this service.
Thankfully, new messages appear on the same page, so you will probably see them. You can reply to and forward emails on the platform. There’s no premium version of this service.
10. FakeMail: Long-term disposable email address
Website: FakeMail
Features:
- Disposable email available for up to two weeks
- Easy to use
- Professional domains
- No registration
FakeMail has a clean and aesthetic user interface. We especially like that it allows users to use a particular banner address for up to two weeks. This can be useful when running tests as a developer or when communicating with users while maintaining your privacy.
The disposable email service also provides a randomly generated password to make it easier for you when signing up on websites, for example.
The domains for the burner addresses are professional (.org). In our tests, we could sign up on websites that strictly require work emails. We took the service for a spin and signed up for an account on HubSpot. We got a confirmation code in four seconds right on FakeMail’s homepage.
11. YOPMail: Custom burner address
Website: YOPMail
Features:
- Customize your throwaway address
- Multiple domain names to choose from
- Messages are stored for up to eight days
- Random burner email generator
YOPMail is a one-stop shop for burner addresses. It offers a range of options that meet your specific needs. For instance, if you want a custom throwaway email, you can create one using “username”@yopmail.com.
We went ahead and used our shiny new YOPMail address to sign up for the popular Morning Brew newsletter, but unfortunately, it was flagged as an invalid address. Determined, we switched to one of the obscure domains available on YOPMail’s homepage, and it worked.
YOPMail can also generate a free temporary email address for you if you need help coming up with one. In addition, you can choose from multiple domain names.
The service can also be useful when you need a domain from a certain region. For instance, YOPMail has .fr domains you can use to signup for websites that strictly require .fr email domains.
However, you should note that YOPMail emails are public, which means anyone with your disposable address can access your inbox.
12. ThrowAwayMail: Privacy-friendly burner email
Website: ThrowAwayMail
Features:
- Private throwaway email address
- Burner address is available for up to 48 hours
ThrowAwayMail is your typical throwaway email service. Users get a disposable email right on the home page. However, you’ll have to solve a captcha to get the burner address.
We particularly like that ThrowAwayMail offers users a private burner email, meaning no one else can access that email.
You can use the email address for up to 48 hours. After that, it will be deleted with all the received emails. The email inbox will still be available after you refresh the page.
We took it for a run and signed up for Discord and Morning Brew, and we got through without a problem. The confirmation emails got to our inbox in around three seconds.
What is a Temporary Email Address?
A temporary email is a self-destructing email address that you can use to send or receive emails. These addresses are meant for one-time use, as your email inbox gets deleted after some time.
A disposable email inbox means you can’t keep emails around forever like you would with a regular email inbox. Often, you can’t reuse the same temporary email address, as most disposable emails are randomized.
As such, we don’t recommend using temporary emails for important apps and websites like your online bank account.
Where can I use a temporary email address?
Here are some of the best uses of a temporary email address:
- Escape spam messages: Most online services today require you to sign up and provide an email address. This means you’ll get a lot of promotional emails and spam in your inbox.
- Stay anonymous online: Your email address can be easily connected to your Facebook account, LinkedIn profile, and more. If you want to sign up for a website without potentially exposing your identity, then we recommend using a disposable email.
- Free downloads: If a website asks you to sign up for their newsletter before letting you download an ebook, then you can simply use a throwaway email.
Using a disposable email address keeps your mailbox organized and spam-free and reduces your exposure to hackers and other online threats.
Types of disposable email addresses
There are three main types of disposable email addresses, namely:
- A throwaway email address: This is the most common type of temporary email address. They’re meant for one-time use and are only active for a limited time. Examples include Temp Mail and 10 Minute Mail.
- A forwarding address: This is an email address used to forward emails to your primary email address. Think of it as a middle-man but for emails. It has a longer lifespan than a throwaway email address. Addy.io is a perfect example of this type of temp email service.
- An alias address: An alias email is an email address you connect with your primary account. Gmail and other email providers allow users to do this. All the messages sent to your alias account will pop up in your primary account. Unlike temporary email addresses, an alias address is permanent, so you can use it to sign up on multiple platforms. To protect your privacy and stay anonymous, we recommend you change your details when creating an alias email account.
Why Do You Need a Temporary Email Address?
Disposable email addresses have several benefits. We discuss some of them below.
1. Keep spam out of your regular inbox
Are you tired of spam emails invading your account? Remember the early days when you only received essential emails? Now, almost every notification is an email you don’t care about.
A temp email address can keep spammers at bay!
2. No leaked email addresses in data breaches
Using a temporary email to sign up for platforms you deem potentially unsafe can protect your privacy in the event of a data breach.
Websites generally do their best to safeguard your data. But, despite their efforts, cybercriminals can get their hands on this data anyway.
Even high-profile websites are not immune to this threat. In May 2016, 164 million email addresses and passwords got exposed after LinkedIn was hacked. In 2019, Canva was also hacked, and the data of 137 million subscribers was compromised.
3. Better email security
Very few people take the time to read the terms and conditions of websites and learn how they handle personal information. As a result, many don’t know that websites share their data with third parties.
Using a disposable email address eliminates the chances that your privacy could be threatened if your email is shared with third parties.
4. Online shopping without promotional emails
Shopping online is convenient and fun. However, it can be annoying to receive endless emails from stores telling you about the latest discounts. Promotional emails can quickly overload your inbox if you don’t keep track of them.
A disposable email address allows you to skirt this nuisance. If you’re shopping at a random store or applying for loyalty cards, using a burner email address is recommended to avoid getting bombarded with emails about sales and deals.
5. No signup confirmations in your regular inbox
Sometimes, you may only need to use a website once. Maybe you want to read an article, download a file, or access a service. However, many websites will require you to provide an email and sign up for an account before you can do this.
A disposable email address comes in handy during times like this.
How to Choose a Disposable Email
There are numerous disposable email services available today, and it can be hard to decide which one to choose. These are the key things to keep in mind when selecting the best temp email service.
- No registration: You shouldn’t provide any personally identifiable information.
- Easy to use: The service should be simple and direct, helping you accomplish your goals fast.
- Temporary storage for incoming emails: The best burner email services should store your emails for a certain period, usually a few minutes to a couple of days.
- Anonymous: Ensure the temp email address is anonymous and can’t be traced back to you.
Disadvantages of Using a Disposable Email
Although temporary email addresses can come in handy in certain situations, it’s not advisable to use them to send or receive private messages or sensitive information like your bank statements. Here are other disadvantages of temporary email services.
- Limited lifespan: Disposable email addresses are designed to be temporary. They typically expire after a short time, which can range from a few minutes like 10 Minute Mail to a few days, depending on the service. This can be a problem if you need to receive important information or correspondence over an extended period.
- Unreliable delivery: Because disposable email addresses are often used for temporary purposes or to avoid spam, some websites may treat them as suspicious or block them outright. This can result in emails not being delivered or ending up in spam folders, leading to missed messages.
- Lack of accountability: Disposable email addresses are frequently used for anonymous online activities, making it difficult for others to verify the identity or credibility of the sender.
- Limited functionality: Disposable email addresses typically lack advanced features and functionalities found in regular email accounts. For example, they may not support features like replying, forwarding, filtering, or organizing emails into folders.
- Incompatibility with certain services: Some online platforms and services have measures in place to detect and block disposable email addresses, like Steam. This can prevent you from signing up or accessing certain services if you rely solely on disposable email addresses.
Other Ways to Enhance Your Privacy Online
There are many other ways to protect your privacy online besides using a temporary email address. Using a disposable email address doesn’t shield you from certain threats, like spyware or hackers.
Below, we briefly highlight some valuable tools that can help you protect your data.
1. Use a reputable VPN
VPNs encrypt your internet connection, making it difficult for anyone to intercept or monitor your online activities. By using a VPN while accessing disposable email services, you add an extra layer of privacy and prevent the burner email services from tracking your IP address or monitoring your email communications.
Also, in some countries or regions, certain websites or online services may be blocked or censored. By using a VPN, you can bypass these restrictions and access the services you need without limitations.
We recommend using a top-rated VPN provider like NordVPN. This Panama-based provider is known for its advanced security and vast network of servers. You can try NordVPN with a 30-day money-back guarantee below.
- Fast and large worldwide network of VPN servers
- Perfect for privacy and streaming
- Trusted by many, with over 14 million users
If you’d like to learn more about NordVPN and how it can help you stay private online and bypass geo-restrictions on Netflix and other streaming platforms, please read our comprehensive NordVPN review.
2. Use antivirus software
Cybercriminals continue to come up with innovative ways to spread malware and snare unsuspecting victims. A trusted antivirus, like Kaspersky, offers real-time protection from such threats.
If you’re using a temp email to receive untrusted emails that may contain malware or malicious links, we advise that you use an antivirus to shield you from such threats.
Kaspersky comes with a firewall, as well as anti-malware, anti-fraud, anti-spyware, and anti-ransom tools to safeguard your privacy online and offline.
3. Use a password manager
Password managers can generate strong, unique passwords for each of your disposable email accounts. A password manager also securely stores these passwords, eliminating the need to remember them or reuse weak passwords.
Not all password managers are secure, and using unsafe ones can inadvertently put your privacy at risk. We recommend using a highly secure password manager like 1Password. 1Password comes with two-factor authentication, AES 256-bit encryption, and other security tools, which you can read all about in our full 1Password review.
We strongly advise against using the same password across multiple websites, as this makes it easy for hackers to steal your data. Instead, use 1Password to create and store strong passwords.
4. Remove personal info from the internet
We all have that profile we wish we never made or that unused account we’ve tried to delete unsuccessfully. These scraps of data on the web can put your privacy at risk if they fall into the wrong hands.
DeleteMe is a privacy solution that allows you to delete your personal information from the internet. It searches for your personal information across hundreds of platforms, and you get a custom report highlighting where your data has been found. You can even request to have your data deleted from a particular platform.
Want to read about our personal experiences? Our DeleteMe review details everything you need to know about this service and how it worked for us.
Final Thoughts: The Best Temporary Email Service
As we increasingly depend on online services in our daily lives, the chances are that you’ll have to provide your email to many more platforms.
Using a temporary email address saves you the headache of dealing with spam. We also recommend using a VPN and antivirus to protect your privacy.
If you’re looking for other ways to keep your data away from prying eyes, check out our article on the top secure email providers.
Check out our FAQ section below for answers to common questions about the best temporary email services.
Yes, using a temporary email address is perfectly legal. It safeguards your inbox from unwanted spam, ads, and phishing emails. Throwaway emails also come in handy when signing up for online services you will probably only use once, or you don’t trust.
Temporary email addresses are generally not recommended for sending or receiving sensitive information, like your banking details. However, it’s safe to use a temp email for run-on-the-mill messages.
Temp Mail is easily one of the best temp email services. You don’t have to sign up or provide personal details to use it. Temp Mail stores your emails for at least one hour before they’re deleted.
It’s pretty easy to get a temporary email address. Most throwaway email providers don’t require you to sign up or register to use their service. Check out the disposable email services featured in our article on the best temporary emails.
