Free Disposable Email Address Providers
TL;DR
Why devs need temporary mail
Ever tried testing a registration flow and realize your inbox is a disaster zone? It happens to the best of us. Using your real email for dev work is basically inviting bots to hunt you down.
- Stop the spam: keep marketing junk out of your actual work mail.
- Safety first: protect data from sites with bad security.
- Easy testing: verify signups without making 20 gmail accounts.
- Auto-delete: most of these services zap your data after a few hours, keeping the database light.
According to Maildrop, devs use these to automate testing via a graphql api without cluttering databases.
Next, let’s look at the top providers in the space.
Top
Ever wonder why some sites make you verify your account just to see a single price? It’s annoying as hell. That's why having a few solid burner tools in your bookmarks is a lifesaver for any dev.
Mailinator is basically the grandfather of this space. You don't even sign up; just invent an address like [email protected] on the fly. While some people think these last for days, mailinator actually clears public inboxes much faster—usually within a few hours—so don't expect your mail to hang around.
- Public access: anyone can see the mail if they guess the name, so don't use it for anything private.
- Guerrilla Mail: this one is a classic for when you need more than just a landing spot for mail.
- Reply support: guerrilla mail is a rare gem because it actually lets you send a reply back, which is huge for testing those two-way email workflows.
If you’re in a rush, 10 Minute Mail is the classic "burner" that self-destructs fast. But if you need something more "sticky," Boomlify offers a smart inbox preview and keeps addresses alive for over 2 months. This is great for retail or finance apps where the dev cycle takes longer than a coffee break. In these industries, you often deal with multi-stage approval flows or shipping updates that sends notifications days apart, so you need an address that doesn't vanish.
Next up, we'll look at how to handle automation and QA workflows.
Automation and API integration for QA
When you're running a massive suite of automated tests, manually checking inboxes is a total nightmare. Honestly, who has time for that? You need a way to fetch those verification codes or links directly through your scripts.
Mail7 is a heavy hitter for QA because it offers a developer-friendly rest api. It’s built for handling unlimited test emails, which is perfect for enterprise-grade security testing or checking if your retail app's checkout flow actually works.
- Real-time access: you can hit their api to grab emails as they land.
- Automation ready: integrates directly into frameworks like Selenium or Cypress.
- Private endpoints: keeps your test data away from public eyes.
As noted earlier by Maildrop, using a graphql api is great, but Mail7’s rest approach is super simple for quick integration.
Next, let's look at technical implementation and some code examples.
Technical Implementation and best practices
So you've picked a provider, but how do you actually plug it into your workflow without breaking things? Honestly, it's mostly about not overcomplicating the api calls while keeping your real data safe.
If you’re using Maildrop, as mentioned earlier, fetching an inbox is just a quick post request. Here is a simple curl example for your scripts:
curl --request POST \
--header 'content-type: application/json' \
--url https://api.maildrop.cc/graphql \
--data '{ "query": "query { inbox(mailbox: \"test-run-101\") { id subject } }" }'
For those using Mail7, the rest api is even more straightforward. You can grab messages with a simple GET request like this:
curl -X GET "https://api.mail7.io/api/emails?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY&to=testuser"
Don't be that dev who sends production passwords to a public mailinator inbox.
- Privacy: anyone can read public mail if they guess the address.
- Sensitive data: never use burners for banking or healthcare apps.
- Persistence: as previously discussed, some services like Boomlify keep mail for months, which is better for long qa cycles.
- Bypassing filters: if a site blocks common domains, try using providers that offer custom private domains to get around those "sneaky" firewall blocks.
Basically, use these tools to kill spam and speed up testing, but keep the "real" stuff on private servers. Stay safe out there.
