I know, I know. This is the age-old question of “Are Temporary Emails Safe?”.
Well, maybe it’s, and maybe it’s not, but it’s still a common question.
In a nutshell, the safety of temporary, disposable emails
This article should help you understand the importance of temporary email security.
Let me briefly explain what temporary email is, or “temp mail”, and how it works before we get started.
Temporary email services allow you to have an email address that can be disposed of. An email address that has been used once and then discarded.
Temporary mail is a way to have an email address that you can use for websites that are known for spamming or solicitation. You would use this temporary email account in place of your primary one.
You can then sign up, register or access any other information you require using an email address you can walk away with.
Are temporary emails therefore safe?
We can now get to the point, if you have a basic understanding about temporary e-mail.
Are they really safe?
The answer is yes as well as not.
Temporary email can be just as secure as permanent email services in that it transmits the same information between the parties. An email is sent from one person to another. This is not a new concept.
The main difference between permanent and temporary email is:
- Registering for an account is required for permanent email accounts. Temporary accounts are not required.
Most quality temporary email services are anonymous. To keep the user anonymous 100%, it is impossible to have any type of registration.
This is how temp mail services deal with it: you simply create a temporary email address whenever you visit the site.
The e-mail address can be used immediately, and you can begin accepting emails right away.
You haven’t answered the question. Is temporary email address safe?
Temporary email
When you visit a temporary email service, most generate a temporary email address. Each subsequent user will receive a random address.
This is normal and a safe idea. However, this is not a guarantee of uniqueness. We’ll get to this more later.
Manually creating an email username
Most sites allow you to change or set your own address. You can, for example, set [email protected] to be your address.
This is a wonderful feature and completely safe in its own right. However, I suspect you may be able to see where I’m going with it.
Temporary email is safe
Let’s sum up what we’ve discussed so far.
- Temporary email is an “unrestricted” system that does not require registration
- Temporary email generator generates random email addresses automatically
- You can usually set your username in temporary email
Add all these factors together, and you will find yourself in a situation that allows for duplication.
Let’s discuss temporary email duplication, and why it may not be safe.
Temporary email duplication
Duplication refers to when another user has the same address as you.
It’s impossible to do in a typical permanent email account scenario because there are no users who can share the same address. It’s possible in a temporary mail situation. Sometimes, even common.
Although automatically generated emails are generally considered safe because there is a very small chance of two people receiving the same email address, it is possible.
The chances of an individual setting their own address are much greater. Two people named John might choose to use the temporary email address [email protected].
This allows both users to view each other’s emails. This is unsafe but also common for temporary email.
How to keep safe
There are some simple rules that you can follow to ensure your email is safe. Let’s look at them.
Rule #1: — Don’t use temporary email to send sensitive emails
This is the most important rule.
Do not use a temporary email service to submit tax returns or to get a mortgage loan.
Rule #2: — If safety is your goal, make sure you are safe
This is what I mean: If you require a temporary email address that you can use for the long-term, but you are certain nobody will find, you can simply choose a username that you will never see again.
This is possible with a randomly generated word.
There is a very, and I’m talking next to impossible chance someone else will end up with fz8vwp6fj99x41@luxusmail.org if you chose it. This example is not recommended.
LuxusMail allows users to choose a username that is easy to remember, such as [email protected]. This username can be easily guessed by others, but it’s easy to remember if they don’t. Or something more difficult like the one above.
Rule #3 — Only use temporary services
Some email services allow you to keep your emails for a time. Some keep them forever. This might not be an issue if the recipe is random, but it can be a problem if you sign up for Facebook or another similar service.
LuxusMail will delete each message within 24 hours.
We’ll do it for free if you forget to delete your Facebook registration email after 24 hours.
This means that anyone who stumbles upon your old inbox will not see it because we have already cleaned it up, and they won’t be the wiser.
Final thoughts
I hope we have answered the question “Are temporary emails safe?”.
If you’re smart enough to follow these simple rules, temporary email from us or anyone else can be as secure, if not more, than permanent email.