Free Temporary Email
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What is disposable temporary email?
A disposable email — also called temp mail, throwaway email, 10 minute mail, fake mail, trash mail, or burner email — is a temporary inbox you can use without exposing your real address. mail.cx generates one instantly, receives messages in real time, and deletes everything after the inbox expires. No signup, no payment, no tracking, no advertising IDs.
Disposable email addresses solve a simple problem: every signup form, comment thread, and download gate on the modern web demands an email. Hand over your real one and you'll be hit with newsletters, retargeting ads, breach lists, and phishing for the rest of your life. A throwaway address takes the confirmation message, then disappears — your real inbox stays clean.
mail.cx is built around three ideas: instant, private, real-time. You get a fresh anonymous inbox in one click. Messages live for a hot 1-hour window, then are permanently deleted — we never archive, sell, or scan inbound mail. Pro plans extend retention to 7 days for custom-domain inboxes, but the privacy model is identical.
Unlike most temporary email services that poll the server every few seconds, mail.cx pushes new messages to your browser the instant they arrive over a persistent SSE (Server-Sent Events) connection. There is no refresh button. There is no "check again in 30 seconds" loading spinner. The mail just appears. This single difference is why developers and power users prefer mail.cx over polling-based temp-mail sites.
Common use cases for a disposable email address include signing up for forums and comment systems, claiming lead-magnet downloads, trying free trials without committing your real address, surviving public Wi-Fi terms-of-service screens, and protecting your real inbox when you suspect a site might leak or sell its email list. Anywhere you'd hesitate to give out a real email, a disposable one works perfectly.
mail.cx is free for casual use — no credit card, no contract. For developers and teams who need a permanent address on their own custom domain (you@yourdomain.com), 7-day retention, REST API, and 200,000 Ops/month, Pro is just $4 per month. Cancel anytime.
Why use a disposable email?
A throwaway address protects your real inbox in dozens of everyday situations.
Forum & comment signups
Reddit clones, niche forums, and comment systems all want an email. Use a disposable one and walk away when you're done.
Download gates & file hosting
"Enter your email to download" pages, lead-magnet PDFs, and file hosts that require verification — all work with a temp address.
Account activation
Most sites send a confirmation email when you sign up. mail.cx receives those messages in real time via SSE, usually within a second.
Newsletter & promo signup
Want the 10% off coupon without 6 months of marketing email? Disposable mail gets the discount code, your real inbox stays clean.
Free trials without commitment
Try a SaaS free trial without giving your real address. If the product isn't for you, no autorenew nag, no breakup email.
Public Wi-Fi terms-of-service
Café and airport Wi-Fi often demand an email before letting you online. Skip the spam list — paste a disposable address and connect.
Suspicious or untrusted sites
Sketchy promotions, contest entries, or sites you're not sure about. Don't hand them your real email — give them a temp one.
Privacy-first account creation
Sometimes you just don't want a real identity attached. Disposable email keeps the account creation paper trail short.
How to use mail.cx
- 1
Open mail.cx
A random disposable email address is generated for you instantly. No registration or login required.
- 2
Copy and use the address
Paste it into any signup form, verification page, or download gate. It accepts mail right away.
- 3
Receive messages in real time
Incoming emails appear in your inbox the moment they land. SSE keeps the page live — no manual refresh.
- 4
Get a new address anytime
Click "Change" to spin up a fresh inbox. The previous address expires and all messages are deleted.
How mail.cx is different
Most temp-mail sites still poll. We push. Here's what that means for you.
vs polling-based temp mail
Sites like temp-mail.io and 10minutemail check the server every few seconds. mail.cx uses Server-Sent Events to stream new messages to your browser the instant they arrive. The difference is sub-second vs 5-30 seconds.
vs email aliases (Apple Hide My Email, SimpleLogin)
Aliases forward forever to your real inbox and tie back to your real identity. mail.cx inboxes are independent, self-destruct after the TTL, and have no link to a real account. Use aliases for long-term forwarding; use mail.cx when you want to walk away.
vs paid-only services
Some temp-mail services charge for anything useful (longer retention, custom domains, no ads). mail.cx is free with no ads on the core service. Pro is genuinely optional and only adds developer/team features.
vs your own self-hosted catch-all
Setting up Postfix + Dovecot + a custom domain just to receive throwaway mail is a weekend project. mail.cx gives you the same outcome (custom domain, 7-day storage, API) for $4/month with zero ops.
Instant
Address ready in one click. Zero signup, zero setup.
Private
Inboxes self-destruct. We never log, sell, or share your mail.
Real-time
SSE pushes new mail to your browser the moment it arrives.
Developer-ready
Pro adds REST API, custom domains, and predictable rate limits.
Frequently asked questions
What is a disposable email?
A disposable email is a temporary inbox you can use without revealing your real email address. It's also called temp mail, throwaway email, 10 minute mail, fake mail, trash mail, or burner email. mail.cx gives you one for free in one click — paste it into any signup form, receive the confirmation, then walk away. The address auto-expires.
How long does my disposable inbox last?
Free disposable inboxes live for 1 hour after creation. After that, all emails, attachments, and address data are permanently deleted from our storage — nothing is retained. Pro users can keep custom-domain inboxes for 7 days.
Is mail.cx really free?
Yes — anonymous use is fully free with no signup, no ads, no rate limits on the basics. Pro adds custom domains, REST API, and longer retention for $4 per month.
Will mail.cx read my messages?
No. We don't read, sell, or share inbound mail. Free inboxes are kept for 1 hour, then permanently deleted. We don't use tracking cookies, advertising IDs, or third-party analytics. The whole product is engineered so that nobody — not us, not advertisers, not anyone — can access your messages after the TTL expires.
Will sites block my disposable email address?
Some services try to block public disposable email domains. If you hit a block, Pro lets you verify your own custom domain — addresses on it look like a normal email and aren't on any public blocklist. Or just spin up a new mail.cx address on a different system domain and try again.
Can I use my own custom domain?
Yes — Pro users can verify a custom domain by adding a TXT record and pointing the MX to mail.cx. Once verified, every email sent to your domain is received in real time, and stored for up to 7 days.
Do you have an API?
Yes. Pro includes a full REST API for creating disposable inboxes, listing messages, downloading attachments, and managing tokens + custom domains. Token-authenticated. See /api-docs for the full reference and code samples.
Is using disposable email legal?
Yes. Disposable email addresses are legal everywhere. They're a privacy tool — equivalent to using a P.O. box for postal mail or a virtual phone number for SMS. You may violate a specific site's Terms of Service if it forbids "temporary email", but the act of using one is not illegal.
Can I send email from a disposable address?
No. mail.cx is receive-only by design. You can read incoming mail and download attachments, but you cannot reply or send new mail from a disposable address. This is what keeps the service free of spam and abuse.
What's the difference between disposable email and an alias?
An alias (like Apple Hide My Email or SimpleLogin) forwards mail to your real inbox forever and lives under your real account. A disposable email is independent and self-destructs after the TTL — there's no link back to a real identity. Aliases are good for long-term forwarding; disposable email is better when you want to walk away clean.
What happens to my emails after the inbox expires?
Permanently deleted. We don't archive, back up, or recover expired inboxes. Once the 1-hour TTL fires, the messages, attachments, headers, and address are gone from our storage. There's no "undo" — that's a feature, not a bug.
Can I download attachments from a disposable inbox?
Yes. Click any email and you'll see a list of attachments with download buttons. Attachments are size-limited (max 25 MB per message) and stream directly from our storage backend.
From the blog
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How to Use a Disposable Email for Reddit
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How to Use a Disposable Email for Discord
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Need a permanent inbox or your own domain?
Pro adds custom domains, REST API access, and longer retention for teams and developers.