What is temp mail?
Temp mail is an email address you use for a limited purpose instead of sharing your primary address. Also called temporary or disposable email, it gives sign-up confirmations, newsletters, and other incoming messages a separate inbox.
“Temporary” can describe how you use an address, rather than how quickly it expires. Some inboxes disappear after a short timer. Others, including Ghostmail addresses, can stay available for as long as you need them.
How does disposable email work?
A disposable email service creates an address and receives messages sent to it. You copy that address into a sign-up form, then open the service's inbox to read the incoming email. The website gets the disposable address rather than your main one.
Services differ in address lifetime, message retention, and account features. Check each separately: an address may remain usable even if old messages are removed. Receiving email also does not imply that a service supports sending or replying.
Ghostmail is an Android app for persistent disposable addresses. It receives email, and you manage those addresses in the app. Sending and replying are not currently supported.
Persistent temp mail vs. 10-minute mail
The useful distinction is whether you expect another message later. A short-lived inbox may be enough for a single email. A persistent address is useful when you want to keep receiving messages from the same sender.
| What matters | Short-lived temp mail | Ghostmail |
|---|---|---|
| Address lifetime | A limited session or timer, depending on the service | Keep an address as long as you need it |
| Later messages | May be unavailable after expiry | Return to the same address in the app |
| Managing addresses | Varies by provider | Up to 50 free random addresses; remove ones you no longer need |
| Best fit | A single incoming message | Sign-ups and subscriptions with follow-up messages |
Keeping an address available is different from archiving all of its messages forever. If you need to retain a particular email, check the app's current storage behavior rather than assuming it is permanent.
When is a temporary email address useful?
- Newsletters: give subscriptions a separate address so they do not fill your main inbox.
- Forums and communities: keep registration and notification emails separate from personal correspondence.
- Product trials: receive a confirmation and follow-up messages without sharing your primary address.
- Email testing: check that your own application sends confirmation or notification messages to a receiving inbox.
For example, you could create one Ghostmail address for a newsletter and another for a forum. If you stop using the newsletter, remove that address while keeping the forum address for later notifications.
Some websites do not accept disposable email domains. Respect their address requirements. For banking, work, password recovery, or anything essential, use an email account you reliably control.
What does temp mail do for privacy?
A separate address reduces where you share your primary email and helps you organize unwanted messages. It does not hide your IP address, stop all tracking, or make a website anonymous. A disposable inbox is still handled by an email service, so review its data practices.
For Ghostmail, read the Privacy Policy for details about stored addresses, sign-in, analytics, crash reporting, and deletion. See the privacy FAQ for links to the app's Data safety information.
How to get temp mail on Android with Ghostmail
- Install Ghostmail from Google Play on your Android device.
- Open the app and generate a random disposable email address.
- Copy the address into a sign-up form that accepts disposable email.
- Read incoming messages in Ghostmail, then keep or remove the address as needed.
The free plan supports up to 50 random addresses. The app contains ads and offers optional Premium purchases for up to 200 total addresses, up to 50 personalized addresses, and premium domains. Visit the Premium FAQ for the plan details.