Getting your address
Inbox powered by mail.tm

For throwaway signups only. Don't use a temp address for banking, medical or anything sensitive.

Inbox

Setting up your inbox

No signup and no personal details. This site keeps no copies of your mail, and images stay off until you ask, so senders can't see when you open an email. How your inbox is handled.

What is temp mail?

Temp mail is a free email address you use once and throw away. It's also called temporary email, disposable email, throwaway email or a burner address. You get a working inbox without signing up for anything, use it where a site insists on an email address, and keep your real address out of that site's mailing list and its next data breach.

The address on this page is real. Mail sent to it arrives here, usually within seconds, and you read it like any other inbox. What you can't do is send from it, choose its name or come back to it next week. That's the trade: nothing to set up and nothing tied to you, but nothing permanent either.

How to use temp mail

Three steps, and most people are done in under a minute.

  1. Copy the address

    One is made for you when the page opens. Press Copy, or New address if you want a different one.

  2. Paste it into the sign-up form

    Ask the site to send its code or confirmation link to that address.

  3. Keep this tab open

    The inbox checks for mail every 5 seconds. A code shows up in the inbox row with its own Copy button, so you often never need to open the email.

On a phone you can switch to the other app and come back: the inbox checks again the moment you return. You can also turn on an alert so your browser tells you when mail arrives.

When to use it, and when not to

Temp mail is right for anything you only need once:

  • Reading an article or downloading a file that sits behind an email form
  • Getting a sign-up discount code without joining the mailing list
  • Trying an app or an AI tool before you decide whether to keep using it
  • Wi-Fi log-in pages, competition entries, forums and other one-off registrations
  • Checking what your own site's sign-up email looks like

It's the wrong choice for anything you'll want to get back into:

  • Accounts you plan to keep. Password resets and security alerts go to the address on file, and you lose this inbox if you clear your browser or lose its key.
  • Banking, payments and crypto, and anything to do with work, health or government.
  • Online orders. You'll want the receipt, the delivery updates and a way to send things back.
  • Free trials that take card details. Use an address you read, so you see the reminder before you're charged.

For those, use your real address or an email alias: a forwarding address you keep and can switch off. The guide to email aliases vs temp mail explains which to use when.

Will sites accept a temporary email?

Many will, some won't. Temporary email domains are public, and plenty of sites check new sign-ups against lists of known disposable domains. If the domain is on a list, the form refuses the address, or it takes it and the code never arrives.

  • The form says the address isn't allowed. The site has chosen not to take temp mail. Respect that and use an alias or your real address.
  • The code doesn't arrive. Give it a minute, then press resend once. If nothing comes, press New address and try again. If that fails too, the sender is probably blocking the domain.
  • Don't use it to get round rules. Throwaway addresses used to dodge bans or claim the same free trial twice break most sites' terms, and they're the reason the blocklists exist.

There's more on how detection works in why temp mail gets blocked and what to use instead, and our disposable email checker shows whether a domain is on the most widely used blocklist.

Privacy and safety: what happens to your mail

The plain facts about how this site handles your inbox.

No signup

There's no account, and nothing here asks for your name, phone number or real email address.

Who runs the inbox

Addresses come from mail.tm, a public temporary mail provider, with a backup provider if it's down. The provider holds the mail under its own rules. This site fetches your messages to show them and keeps no copies.

Images off by default

Many marketing emails carry tracking pixels that tell the sender when you opened them. Images only load if you press Show images.

Links show where they go

A link button shows the real destination domain, and the reader warns you if the link text names one site but the link points to another.

What we do keep

IP addresses for a short time, to rate-limit the AI features, and Google Analytics to count visits. There are no ads at the moment.

Who else can see it

Anyone who has the address can send to it, and the mail provider can see what's delivered. Don't use a temporary inbox for anything private.

The full details are in the privacy policy. Want to look at a website before you give it any address? The privacy scanner checks a site's page for trackers, cookies and third-party scripts.

Codes, links and the inbox assistant

Most people come here for a code, so the inbox is built around it.

Code tickets

When an email contains a verification code, it's pulled out and shown in the inbox row, ready to copy in one tap. On a phone, a small bar follows you down the page with your address and swaps to the code when one lands.

Link tickets

Confirmation links get the same treatment, with the real destination domain in plain sight before you tap.

Check for spam

Each email has a Check for spam button. It sends that email's sender, subject and text to an AI model (Google's Gemini), which labels it likely spam or fine. It's a second opinion, not a guarantee, and it only runs when you press it.

Inbox assistant

Optional, and folded away under the inbox. Ask it to find a code, sum up what's arrived or point out anything that looks like phishing. To answer, it sends the sender, subject and first 200 characters of each email to the same model. Questions and answers aren't stored.

Code and link tickets work in your browser without any AI. What AI adds to a temp inbox goes into the details, including what it can't do.

Temp mail for specific sites

Every site handles new accounts its own way. Some send a code, some a link, and some want a phone number too. These pages say what to expect on each one, and when a permanent address is the better choice. The ones people ask about most are temp mail for Higgsfield, temp mail for Grok and temp mail for ChatGPT.

Frequently asked questions

Is this temp mail free?

Yes. There is no paid tier, no account and no card. To stop abuse there is a cap on how many new addresses one connection can make each hour (currently 10).

How long does a temporary email last?

This browser reopens the same address for up to 7 days after your last visit, even if you close or reload the page. To open it later or on another device, copy its recovery key from Keep this inbox. mail.tm, which runs the inbox, keeps each message for 7 days. It still suits one-off sign-ups better than accounts you keep.

Can I send email from it?

No. It only receives. It's built for verification codes, confirmation links and emails you read once.

Why didn't my verification code arrive?

Usually the sender is slow or doesn't deliver to temporary domains. Wait a minute, press resend once, then try a new address. If it still doesn't come, the site probably doesn't accept temp mail, so use an email alias or your real address.

Can I choose my own address or domain?

No. The address is random and the domain is whatever the mail provider has available. That keeps it instant, but it means you can't pick a name.

Is temp mail safe?

It's fine for low-stakes sign-ups. It isn't private from the mail provider, and it's the wrong choice for anything you'll need to recover later. Don't use it for banking, payments or accounts you care about.

Is it legal to use a temporary email?

In most countries, yes. What matters is how you use it. Many sites' terms ban throwaway addresses or multiple accounts, and using one for fraud or to get round a ban is never OK.

Do you read or keep my emails?

This site keeps no copies. The mail provider (mail.tm, or a backup if it's down) holds your mail under its own rules. If you press Check for spam or ask the inbox assistant something, the parts of your mail described above are sent to Google's Gemini model to answer, and we don't store them.

Does it work on a phone?

Yes. The address and the latest code stay one tap away while you switch apps, and the inbox checks for new mail as soon as you come back to the tab.

What's the difference between temp mail and an email alias?

Temp mail is a separate inbox you throw away. An alias forwards to your real inbox, so you keep the mail and can switch the alias off if it starts getting spam. Use temp mail for one-offs and an alias for accounts you keep.

More answers on the FAQ page.

Guides

Short, practical reads on temporary email and keeping your inbox your own.

All guides