Disposable email vs email aliases vs plus addressing
Three ways to avoid handing out your real email address. Each one fits a different situation.
Disposable (temporary) email
A separate inbox that exists for a short time and then disappears. On TempMailyo, it lasts 24 hours and needs no account.
- Good for: one-time sign-ups, downloads, coupons, and testing.
- Strengths: nothing to set up, no link to your real address, nothing left behind.
- Weaknesses: you can’t receive mail after it ends, it can’t send, and many sites block it.
Email aliases
An alias is a separate address that forwards to your real inbox. Many email providers and dedicated forwarding services offer them. You create one per site and switch it off if it starts getting spam.
- Good for: accounts you want to keep, shopping, subscriptions.
- Strengths: works long-term, password resets still reach you, you can see which site leaked or sold your address.
- Weaknesses: needs an account with the alias provider, and that provider sees your mail.
Plus addressing
Many providers deliver [email protected] to [email protected]. You can tag each sign-up and filter by the tag.
- Good for: sorting mail from sites you trust.
- Strengths: free, instant, no setup.
- Weaknesses: your real address is plainly visible, and spammers can strip the tag. It doesn’t hide anything.
Which one to use
- Will you need this account in a month? Use an alias or your real email.
- Is it a one-time download, coupon, or look around? Use disposable email.
- Do you trust the site and just want to sort its mail? Use plus addressing.