Mailinator® provides disposable email addresses to combat spam. Users can access a mailbox using just the email address, and all mail is deleted after a few hours. The service reduces the chance of becoming a spam target by providing a temporary email address. Mailinator® lacks security and privacy protections and is not intended to replace traditional email services. It offers unique features such as alternate mailbox names and custom widgets.
Mailinator® is a free web-based service that provides disposable email addresses. It aims to combat spam by providing users with a temporary email address that they can provide without fear of cluttering up their regular inbox. There is no registration and anyone can access a particular mailbox using just the email address. All mail is deleted after a few hours and each mailbox can only hold 10 messages at a time.
While traditional email services often attempt to fight spam through filters or blocklists, Mailinator® doesn’t directly filter most unwanted email. Instead, the service reduces the chance of a user becoming a spam target by providing a temporary email address. These addresses can be used to sign up for a website and receive an activation link, post a message on a forum, or in any scenario where someone doesn’t want to use a real email address. Any address can be used as long as it is less than 25 characters and the site will automatically create a mailbox for a new address when it receives mail.
The Mailinator® site has an interface similar to the most popular webmail services, but does not require any registration or subscription. There are no passwords: users log in using only an email address, which comes in the form “[email protected]”. Without a password, accounts are open to anyone who knows the address. For this reason, the creators of the site recommend choosing more obscure addresses that cannot be easily guessed or accidentally chosen by another user. The service lacks any real security or privacy protections, so secure or personal information should be sent through other channels.
Mailinator® is not intended to replace traditional email services. Anyone using the site can receive and forward emails, but cannot compose new messages. All messages received on the site are deleted after a few hours and no address can have more than 10 messages in its mailbox. Also, the service isn’t designed for absolute reliability and may reject or miss an occasional email. Attachments are stripped from all messages, and emails containing a large number of recipients or many images are not accepted.
There are other throwaway email services out there, but Mailinator® has some unique features. First, the site offers alternate mailbox names that hide the identity of the original mailbox. These hidden addresses can then be disclosed without revealing the actual mailbox name. Users can also receive messages using a custom widget that can be placed on any website. Domain owners can even point their mail exchange record (MX record) to Mailinator® and use their domain with the service.
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