What is temp mail?
Temp mail, short for temporary email and also called disposable email, is an address you use in place of your real one. It receives messages like a normal inbox and needs no account. When you are done you throw it away, so sign-up confirmations and the marketing that follows never reach your own inbox.
How a temp mail address works
A temp mail service owns a set of domains and accepts mail for any name on them. When a site sends a message to anything@one-of-those-domains, the service stores it for a short time and shows it to whoever opens that address. There is no registration step: an address exists as soon as someone uses it.
In TempMail, the app creates a random 10-character address on one of 23 free domains the first time you open it. The address stays in the app until you delete it. Messages sent to it are deleted from the server 12 hours after they arrive.
The main types
| Type | How long it lasts | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Timed address (the "10 minute mail" style) | Minutes, sometimes extendable | One code, right now |
| Persistent random address | Until you delete it; messages expire | Sign-ups over a few hours or days |
| Custom-name address | Until you delete it | Sites you come back to |
| Gmail-based variants (dots and plus signs) | Varies by service | Sites that block disposable domains |
| Email alias (forwarding) | Until you turn it off | Accounts you keep long term |
Aliases are a different tool: they forward to your real inbox and need an account. The disposable email vs email alias guide compares them.
What people use it for
- Receiving a verification code or OTP for a one-off sign-up
- Downloads, coupons and newsletters behind an email form
- Wi-Fi portals and guest sign-ins
- Testing sign-up and email flows during development
Limits to know
- Receive only. Most temp mail services, TempMail included, cannot send or reply.
- Not private. Anyone who knows the address can read the inbox. See is temp mail safe.
- Sometimes blocked. Some sites refuse known disposable domains. Switching domain often helps; the missing email checklist covers it.
- Short memory. Messages are deleted after a set time, 12 hours in TempMail.
How long messages stay, whether you can reply and which platforms are covered differ a lot between services. The comparison of Temp-Mail.org alternatives puts six of them side by side.
Questions
What is a temp mail address?
A temporary email address you use instead of your real one. It receives messages without an account and is discarded when you are done, so sign-up mail and spam stay out of your own inbox.
Can I send emails from temp mail?
Usually not. TempMail and most temp mail services are receive only.
Related guides
Temp mail for OTP and verification codes
Get a sign-up code without giving out your real email, on a phone or a computer.
Is temp mail safe?
What a disposable inbox protects, what it does not, and where never to use one.
Disposable email vs email alias
Two ways to keep your real address private, compared side by side.
More in all temp mail guides.