Temp mail is a throwaway inbox you lose when you're done. An email alias is a forwarding address you keep, which sends mail on to your real inbox. Use temp mail for one-off codes and downloads. Use an alias for any account you'll log back into but don't want tied to your real address. Most people end up using both.
The difference at a glance
| Temp mail | Email alias | |
|---|---|---|
| Signup needed | No | Yes, once |
| How long it lasts | Minutes to a session | Until you switch it off |
| Where mail goes | A web page | Your normal inbox |
| Can you reply? | No | On some services |
| Password resets work? | No | Yes |
The deciding question is simple: will you ever need an email from this site again? If yes, alias. If no, temp mail is fine. For the basics of how a temp inbox works, see what temp mail is and how it works.
How email aliases work
An alias service sits between the sites you sign up to and your real inbox.
- You sign up once with an alias service and tell it your real address.
- It gives you aliases, usually random-looking addresses on its own domain. Some let you pick the name or use your own domain.
- You give each site its own alias. The site only ever sees the alias.
- Mail is forwarded to your real inbox, so it turns up alongside everything else. No extra app to check.
- Some services let you reply through the alias, so the person you're writing to sees the alias, not your real address.
- You can switch any alias off. If one starts getting spam, or a site you used it on has a breach, turn it off and the mail stops. Nothing else is affected.
That last part is the real win. Because each alias was given to one site, spam arriving at it tells you exactly who leaked or sold your address. And if an email claiming to be from your bank lands on the alias you gave a garden centre, you know it's fake without opening it.
The trade-off: the alias service sees your mail as it passes through, so pick one you trust. And because aliases keep working, they're not for things you want gone. They're for things you want to keep at arm's length.
Alias services worth knowing
These are the main ones, checked October 2026. Features and plans change, so check each service's own site before you choose.
- Apple Hide My Email. Built into Sign in with Apple, and with iCloud+ you can make addresses for any site. When an app offers Sign in with Apple and you choose to hide your email, the app gets a random relay address that forwards to you.
- Firefox Relay. From Mozilla. The free tier gives you 5 masks, and the paid tier makes them unlimited.
- DuckDuckGo Email Protection. Free @duck.com addresses that forward to your inbox, and it strips many email trackers out before the mail reaches you.
- SimpleLogin. Open source, now owned by Proton.
- addy.io. Open source, formerly called AnonAddy.
- Proton Pass. A password manager that can create an alias at the same moment it saves a new login, which is a tidy habit to get into.
- 33mail. One of the older alias services, with a free basic plan.
If you already pay for iCloud+ or use Proton, you may have aliases available without signing up for anything new. For a wider list, including temp mail services, see the comparison of 20 temp mail and alias services. If you need to reply or send from an alias, which services allow it varies a lot, and so does the price.
Plus addressing, and why it isn't private
Gmail supports plus addressing, and Outlook.com often accepts it too, though Microsoft only documents it for work accounts. Add a plus sign and any word after your name, and the mail still arrives:
- yourname+shoes@gmail.com goes to yourname@gmail.com
- yourname+newsletter@gmail.com goes to the same place
It's free and needs no setup, and it's genuinely useful for two things: filtering (send everything to +newsletter into a folder) and spotting who sold your address (spam arriving at +shoes points at the shoe shop).
But it's not private. Your real address is sitting right there in plain sight, and anyone can delete the plus part to reach you directly. Some sign-up forms also reject the plus sign. Think of it as a sorting tool for your own inbox, not a way to hide. Our temp Gmail guide covers what plus addresses and dots can and can't do.
Keeping work and side projects separate
If you freelance, run a side project or job hunt, the same tools help keep the different parts of your life from bleeding into each other.
- Client work uses your real address, or one on your own domain if you have one. Contracts, invoices and anything a client needs to reach you go here.
- Platforms get an alias each. Job boards, freelance marketplaces, design tools, scheduling apps. You keep the accounts, but when one starts sending daily "opportunities", you switch off that alias and the rest stay quiet.
- Temp mail is for a first look. Want to see what a job board or tool is like before you commit? A temp address is fine. If you decide to stay, sign up again properly with an alias.
The one-alias-per-platform habit also helps against a common scam aimed at freelancers: fake platform notifications and "new client" emails with nasty attachments. If a message claiming to be from your marketplace arrives at an address you never gave that marketplace, bin it. More signs to look for are in how to spot a phishing email.
Which one to use: a quick decision table
| Question | Use |
|---|---|
| Will I log in here again? | Alias |
| Might I need a password reset? | Alias |
| Is money, tax or my bank involved? | Real address |
| Do I just need one code, once? | Temp mail |
| Do I want their newsletter in my inbox? | Alias |
| Do I just want to sort my own mail? | Plus addressing |
| Does a real person need to reply? | Real address |
| Does the site block temp mail? | Alias or real address |
On that last row: when a site blocks disposable domains, respect it. An alias is the honest answer there. The guide on why temp mail gets blocked and what to use instead explains what sites are checking for.
A setup most people can copy
You don't need anything clever. Three layers cover almost everything.
- Your real address for banks, government, work, family, friends and anything with money. Protect it with a strong, unique password and two-factor sign-in, because it's the key to everything else.
- One alias service for every account you keep. Make a new alias for each site and label it with the site's name so you know which is which. Shops, apps, forums, newsletters you want, loyalty schemes.
- Temp mail for true one-offs: a download, a code, café wifi, a coupon you'll use once. Open a temp inbox, use it, move on.
If you're not sure which layer something belongs in, pick the one that lasts longer. An alias you didn't really need costs you nothing. A temp address on an account you later need back costs you the account.
For more on where temp mail is and isn't safe, read is temp mail safe and legal.