Definition
💡 A disposable email address is a temporary — often anonymous — email account created for short-term use and can be quickly discarded after serving its purpose. These addresses are typically used to prevent spam and protect privacy — especially if you don't want to share your primary email with sites you don't trust.
A disposable email address is often temporary (only used for a few days — if not hours), and it's easy to create as it only needs minimal personal information. It's often used to protect privacy (say you don't want to share your primary email address) and steer clear of spam and promotional emails.
Disposable email addresses are handy for sign-ups and registrations, online shopping, testing and dev purposes, and participating in online forums and communities.
Example
Gmail
Gmail lets you create variations of your existing email address using the "+" and "." symbols as modifiers. For instance:
- clairedavis+shopping@gmail.com
- clairedavis+newsletter@gmail.com
- clairedavis+signups@gmail.com
Yahoo
Yahoo Mail provides a "disposable email address" feature through its "extra email address" service, which allows you to create additional email addresses linked to your main account.
For example, if your Yahoo Mail address is trevorsmith@yahoo.com, you can create the following:
- trevorsmith-dummy@yahoo.com
- trevorsmith-temp@yahoo.com
The cool thing is that these emails will still deliver messages to your primary inbox, and you can set up filters to manage them.
Is there a difference between disposable and temporary email addresses?
Not necessarily.
The terms "disposable" and "temporary" are often used interchangeably, though some argue there's a subtle difference between the two. To understand this, let's touch on how disposable email addresses have different types of use:
- To forward emails to the primary account under a separate email address.
- To be used as an "alias address" set up under the user's primary domain, which then redirects the messages sent to the alias into a specific folder in the main inbox.
- To be used for a short time. This "non-forwarding address" does not perform the other two functions.
How users interpret the above purpose — and whether they're seen as temporary or disposable emails — varies. However, both types of email addresses serve the same function of protecting privacy and avoiding spam.
How to create a disposable email address in Gmail
Method 1. Simplified
When subscribing to an email list or signing up on a suspicious website, use the "+" sign to create an alias. For example, youremail+newsletter@gmail.com.
If the alias starts receiving spam, create a filter for the alias you used to automatically send these emails to the Trash.
Method 2. Advanced
- Log in to Your Gmail Account.
- Click the Settings option.
- Select the Accounts and Import option.
- Go to Send mail as.
- Click Add another email address.
- Input the corresponding address you want to use.
- Tick the box for Treat as an alias.
- Tap on the Next step.
- Click Send verification.
- Follow the prompts to verify your new alias.
How to detect a disposable email address
There are some ways you can detect disposable email addresses. You can either see them with your naked eye or use the tools described below:
- Look for generic names. Disposable email addresses often use generic names like "test," "spam," or "temp" instead of — or alongside — actual names.
- Use an email verification API. Tools like NeverBounce, AbstractAPI, and ZeroBounce can detect disposable email addresses. They cross-check the email address with a database of known disposable email providers and flag it if it matches.
- Check for a valid domain name. If the domain name in the email address does not exist or is misspelled, chances are it's a disposable email address.
- Verify the address' activity and engagement. If they are in your email list, check its history to see if there has been any activity or engagement with your messages. Disposable email addresses are often used for one-time purposes (like downloading your lead magnet) and may not have a history of opening or clicking links.
