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What is a throwaway email?

A throwaway email is a temporary address you hand out instead of your real one, then walk away from. nullmail creates a random inbox as soon as you open the site, with no account and no password. It is receive-only, so you can read what arrives but not send from it, and the inbox plus its messages are deleted after about 60 minutes.

What is a throwaway email used for?

People reach for a throwaway email whenever a site asks for an address and the request feels bigger than the task. Signing up for a one-off download, checking a coupon code, reading a forum thread, testing your own signup flow, or trying a service you are not sure about yet: none of those need your permanent address attached to them. The address is not meant to be kept. You use it, you read whatever arrives, and you let it disappear. That is the whole point. Because nullmail is receive-only, it suits inboxes where you expect something to land but never need to reply, such as verification links, download links, or order confirmations. If you do need to write back, or keep a history, use an address you control. A throwaway inbox is a filter, not a mailbox you live in.

How do you get a throwaway email address?

You do not sign up for anything. Open nullmail and an address appears, already able to receive. Paste it into the field that is asking for your email, submit the form, then wait for the message to show up in the inbox on the page. There is no confirmation email to click, no password to remember, and nothing tying the address back to you.

If you need more time, you can extend the inbox from the page while it is still open. When the timer runs out, the address and every message in it are deleted. There is no archive and no way to get them back, so copy anything you want to keep before that happens.

What a throwaway email will not do

nullmail is receive-only. You can read what was sent to the address, but you cannot send from it, reply to anything that arrives, or use it for a password reset that expects a response.

It is also the wrong tool for anything you want to keep. Bank letters, tax documents, medical records, receipts you might need to dispute: those belong in an inbox you control and can back up. A temporary address is a buffer between you and a form, not a place to store your life.

Is a throwaway email safe to use?

Your real address stays out of the signup database, so if that site later leaks or sells its list, your main inbox is not in it. That is the main thing it buys you.

It does not make you anonymous. Sites can still log the IP address you connected from, and if you reuse the same throwaway address in several places, those accounts can be linked by the address alone. Use a fresh inbox each time you want things kept apart, and do not route anything you would hate to lose through an inbox that deletes itself within the hour.

Is a throwaway email free?

Yes. nullmail is free and needs no account. You open the site and an inbox is ready to receive.

Can I send email from a throwaway address?

No. nullmail is receive-only. You can read messages sent to the address, but you cannot send or reply from it.

How long does a throwaway inbox last?

About 60 minutes by default. You can extend it from the page if you need a bit more time.

What happens to the messages when the inbox expires?

They are hard-deleted along with the address. There is no archive, no export, and no recovery afterwards.

Do I have to give any personal details?

No. There is no signup, no password, and no phone number. The address is generated for you at random.

Last updated: 2026-09-18