When a website asks for an email address but you don't want spam afterwards, a temporary or disposable email address is the easiest way out. Some services give you a single-use inbox that expires in minutes; others give you a permanent alias that forwards to your real address. This guide compares the main options, walks through use cases, and flags the risks of each approach.
Table of Contents
- What is a temporary email address?
- Three types of disposable email services
- Burner services (minutes to one hour)
- Alias services (permanent, forwards to your real address)
- Built-in alias features in Gmail and iCloud
- Service comparison table
- Risks and caveats
- Which one to use for what
- Summary
What is a temporary email address?
A "temporary email address" (also called disposable, burner, or throwaway) is an email address used for a single purpose or short period of time, separate from your main mailbox. Common use cases:
- One-time signup at a website you'll never use again
- Free Wi-Fi sign-in screens that demand an email
- Receiving content from a stranger without exposing your real address
- Spam protection on services you don't fully trust
- Trial signups and limited-time downloads
The point is to keep your real address (Gmail / iCloud / corporate) out of databases you don't trust.
Three types of disposable email services
Disposable email services fall into three broad categories:
| Type | Lifetime | How you read mail | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burner | Minutes to hours | Directly on the service's site | Guerrilla Mail, 10minutemail |
| Alias | Permanent | Forwarded to your real inbox | SimpleLogin, AnonAddy |
| Built-in | Permanent | Inside your main mail service | Gmail "+" addressing, iCloud Hide My Email |
The choice is between "one-and-done" and "long-lived but still pseudonymous."
Burner services (minutes to one hour)
The most "disposable" model: you visit a website and an address is generated for you on the spot.
Guerrilla Mail
- A long-running disposable mail service
- Hit the site, get a random address, valid for one hour
- Inbox is read directly on the site
- Free, no signup
- Past mail evaporates with the address
How to use it:
- Open Guerrilla Mail
- Copy the random address it gives you
- Use the address at the signup form
- Wait for the verification mail in Guerrilla Mail's inbox view
- The address vanishes after an hour
10minutemail
- Lifetime is exactly 10 minutes (with an option to extend)
- Simple UI, great for first-time users
- Free, no signup
Same pattern as Guerrilla Mail. The 10-minute window is ideal for "grab the verification code and forget."
Temp Mail
- Manage multiple disposable addresses at once
- iPhone and Android apps available
- Free
Pros and cons of burner services
Pros: - No signup, instant use - Address disappears automatically — nothing to maintain
Cons: - Useless for any service you might log back into later — the address is gone - Banks, financial services, and major social networks won't accept these - Many sites actively block known disposable email domains
Alias services (permanent, forwards to your real address)
An alias service keeps your real address (Gmail, iCloud) and gives you a separate address per site that forwards to your real inbox.
SimpleLogin
- Run by Proton (the company behind ProtonMail)
- Free plan: up to 10 aliases
- OAuth login with your ProtonMail account is supported
- You can toggle each alias on/off or delete it
- Browser extensions and mobile apps
How to use it:
- Sign up at SimpleLogin (you can use ProtonMail OAuth)
- Click "Create new alias" to get an address like [email protected]
- Use the alias on the signup form
- Incoming mail forwards automatically to your real inbox
- Disable or delete the alias when you're done
AnonAddy
- Open-source alias service
- Paid plans let you bring your own custom domain
- Free tier has bandwidth limits (50 KB per month)
Firefox Relay
- Mozilla's official alias service
- 5 aliases on the free tier
- Premium plan removes the limit
Pros and cons of alias services
Pros: - Address is permanent — you can always log back in - Per-site aliases let you trace exactly who leaked your data - Disable a single alias to kill its spam without affecting others
Cons: - You need an account on the alias service - If the alias service is down, your mail doesn't arrive - Some sites block known alias-provider domains
Built-in alias features in Gmail and iCloud
You may not need a third-party service at all.
Gmail "+" addressing
Add +something between your username and @gmail.com and Gmail treats it as the same inbox but with a tag:
All arrive in [email protected]. Combined with filters, you can route each "+" suffix to its own label.
The downside is that the underlying address is obvious to anyone who knows the trick. Some sites also reject addresses containing "+".
Apple's Hide My Email (iCloud+)
iCloud+ subscribers (starting at around $0.99/month) can use Apple's "Hide My Email":
- Auto-generate a random [email protected] address
- Built into Safari and any "Sign in with Apple" flow
- Incoming mail forwards to your Apple ID email
- Delete an alias whenever you want
If you're already in the Apple ecosystem and don't mind the small subscription, this is the smoothest experience.
Service comparison table
| Lifetime | Signup needed | Cost | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guerrilla Mail | 1 hour | No | Free | One-and-done verification |
| 10minutemail | 10 min | No | Free | Fastest "click the link and forget" |
| Temp Mail | Variable | No | Free | Managing multiple burner addresses |
| SimpleLogin | Permanent | Yes | Free / paid | Long-term per-site aliases |
| AnonAddy | Permanent | Yes | Free / paid | Privacy maximalists |
| Firefox Relay | Permanent | Yes | Free / paid | Firefox-centric users |
| Gmail "+" | Permanent | (Gmail account) | Free | Simple label-based sorting |
| iCloud Hide My Email | Permanent | iCloud+ | From $0.99/mo | Apple users |
Risks and caveats
Convenience comes with risks.
Don't use burner addresses for serious accounts
For banks, brokerages, social networks, cloud storage, and anywhere you'll need to log in long-term, never use a burner address. Reasons:
- Burner services: the address expires, so you can't receive future verification emails
- Alias services: if the alias provider goes down, you can't receive login emails
- In both cases you'll eventually need to change addresses, which is painful on serious accounts
Some sites reject disposable domains
To fight spam, more sites now block known disposable-email domains (@guerrillamail.com and friends). Alias services are sometimes blocked too. Of all the options, Gmail's "+" addressing is the least likely to be rejected since the underlying address looks normal.
Burner inboxes are shared
On burner services, addresses are issued by chance. It's possible someone else received the same address minutes before you. If multiple unfamiliar emails show up, only open the one from the site you actually signed up at.
The burner service operator can read your mail
Burner services like Guerrilla Mail can technically read everything that arrives. Never use them for password resets, identity-verification links, or anything that would harm you if intercepted.
Free mail still has risks
See free email and security risks for the broader picture of receiving mail through free or shared inboxes.
Which one to use for what
A practical decision guide:
Burner services (Guerrilla Mail / 10minutemail)
- Free Wi-Fi sign-in screens
- One-time access to a paywalled article or download
- Anonymous surveys and trials
Alias services (SimpleLogin / Firefox Relay)
- Long-term but lower-trust services (forums, newsletters, hobby sites)
- Separating work and personal mail
- Newsletters you may want to bulk-unsubscribe later
Gmail "+"
- Sorting promotional mail from a specific company into a label
- Tracing which site leaked your address (you'll see it from the suffix)
iCloud Hide My Email
- iPhone users who hit a "Sign in with Apple" flow
- Anyone already paying for iCloud+
Your real address (Gmail / iCloud)
- Banks, brokerages, and government services — anywhere identity matters
- Trusted friends, family, and business correspondents
Summary
Pick a disposable email approach by lifecycle:
- One-and-done, immediate: Guerrilla Mail or 10minutemail
- Permanent but pseudonymous: SimpleLogin, Firefox Relay, or iCloud Hide My Email
- Simple Gmail labeling: "+" addressing
Watch the three big risks: don't use disposables for important accounts, some sites reject them, and never receive sensitive content through a shared burner inbox.
For long-term privacy use, SimpleLogin or iCloud Hide My Email are the best picks today. For more on email security in general, see free email and security risks and the email encryption guide.
