Temporary email addresses

Temporary email addresses are a feature found in many email systems, designed to help you keep your primary inbox private and clutter-free. They’re a simple way to protect your main email from spam or excessive messages when you need to share it for a one-time purpose. Here’s how they work and a look at an alternative trick that also helps with inbox organization.

What Are Temporary Email Addresses?

Temporary email addresses, often called "aliases," are alternate email addresses that forward emails to your primary inbox. By creating a temporary email address, you can provide a different address than your main one—perfect when you don’t want to reveal your primary email for privacy reasons.

How Do They Work?

1. Automatic Forwarding: Any email sent to your temporary address forwards directly to your main inbox, so you don’t need to check a separate account. You receive the message without anyone knowing your real email address.
2. Simple to Set Up: Most email servers make it easy to set up temporary email addresses, often letting you create an alias with a few clicks in the email interface.
3. Short-Term and Purposeful: These addresses can be created for limited use or for a specific event or subscription. Once you’re done, you can delete or deactivate the address as needed.

An Alternative: The “+” Trick

Some email systems also support a convenient way to create a variation of your primary email address by adding a "+" symbol and any keyword. For example, if your main email is my.email@domain.tld, you could use my.email+shopping@domain.tld or my.email+spammy@domain.tld. Messages sent to these addresses will still arrive in your main inbox, allowing you to see where certain emails are coming from.

However, it’s worth noting that using the “+” trick doesn’t conceal your real email address since it’s visible along with the added label. It’s mainly useful for identifying sources or filtering messages but doesn’t offer the same privacy protection as a true temporary address.

Why Use Temporary Email Addresses?

1. Protecting Privacy: Temporary addresses keep your main inbox private.
2. Spam Control: Easily remove or deactivate a temporary address if it starts receiving spam.
3. Better Organization: Use temporary or “+” addresses for specific purposes, making it easier to filter and sort your inbox.

In short, temporary email addresses and the “+” trick can help you manage your inbox effectively, with temporary addresses providing better privacy and “+” addresses being ideal for organization and tracking sources.