Temporary Email Signup
It seems that everyone really wants your email address nowadays. However, certain people just want to flood your inbox with pointless emails. Not to mention, carelessly handing our your email harms your privacy and security. If your email is involved in multiple breaches (or its address is sold), someone could link your online accounts and activities together. This makes it easier for them to stalk or hack you. You can prevent this by using the following workarounds.
Table of Contents
Plus-Addressed Email
I don't recommend this method for most people. The reason why is because your real email is still exposed. On the other hand, it is good for organizing email.
This method involves putting a + after your real email address. [email protected] will still forward to [email protected]. One benefit for doing this is if you happen to have a folder named garble, any emails sent to [email protected] will be sent to that folder, not the inbox. It keeps email organized when you sign up for something.
Some email providers (such as Gmail) allow you to put dots in your email. They are still forwarded to your inbox. These dots do the same thing as plus-addressed email.
Any competent marketer or spammer would know how to remove the garble after + and send it straight to your inbox.
Temporary Email
Temporary email sites allow you to create a quick disposable email that later gets destroyed. Do not trust these sites if you are planning to sign up for something that requires high-security (like a bank).
Some temporary email sites you can use include: – https://temp-mail.org/en/ – https://10minutemail.com/
Email Aliases
Email aliases are addresses that send and receive emails on your behalf. – receiving: sender –> alias –> you – sending: you –> alias –> sender
The other person never knows your real email. If they start spamming your alias, disable the alias and you will no longer receive emails from them. Some email services already have this feature incorporated. Alternatively, you can use SimpleLogin or AnonAddy.
One problem you may encounter with aliases is that sending and receiving from them can be hard to learn at first. Another problem is if you are using a 3rd party service, you are trusting another company handles your emails responsibly. Furthermore, if the company goes down, you cannot send or receive email through your alias.
Catch All Domains
In rare cases, you may find yourself unable to go to your favorite temporary email site. This might happen if you're in line, and a cashier asks you for your email. Instead of providing your real email address, you can provide them with a catch-all domain.
The following catch-all domains are similar to the other temporary emails. You can put anything before the “@,” and the domain will automatically receive any email that gets forwarded to that address. For instance, if I told you to email me at [email protected], the email would end up in that address's inbox.
| Domain | Website |
|---|---|
| @maildrop.cc | https://maildrop.cc/ |
| @mailinator.com | https://www.mailinator.com/ |
| @sharklasers.com | https://www.guerrillamail.com/ (they have 10 other domains you can use) |
Certain sites may block these domains because they know that no one will ever check them. One solution is to create your own domain and make it a catch-all domain. Domains typically start at around 10 USD per year.