How to create a free temporary email address
A free temporary email address is a name you choose, plus @themailinator.com. There is no account to create, no password to remember, and no confirmation message from this site. You open the inbox in the browser and read whatever was sent to that address. The page is public, so use it for a test or another low-stakes check, not for mail you need to keep private.
Create the address
Start on create a free email. Type a mailbox name. The name can use letters, numbers, dots, underscores, plus signs, and hyphens. It must start and end with a letter or number, stay within 64 characters, and must not contain two dots in a row. Capital letters are folded to lowercase, so Signup-Test and signup-test are the same inbox.
The full address is that name and the domain together, for example signup-test@themailinator.com. The form on the create page adds the domain for you and opens the inbox. You can also go straight to /inbox/ and then the name.
Receive mail online
Use the full address in the app you are testing, or send a message from any mail provider. Then open the same name here. The inbox lists newer messages first. Open a row to read the subject, the sender, and the body. If the message includes HTML, that version is shown without letting the message run scripts.
Mail can take a few seconds to arrive. Refresh the inbox if the row is not there yet. A missing message can also mean the other product delayed it, rejected the domain, or sent it to a different name. This site only shows mail that was actually delivered to @themailinator.com.
What a temporary inbox is good for
A temporary email inbox is a practical place to see whether a sign-up form sends mail, to read a code in a demo that has no real customer data, or to check a subject line and a link host. You do not have to keep a real mailbox for that one trial, and you do not have to file the message afterward.
It is a disposable email address in the plain sense: you can abandon the name when the check is done. Nothing is registered to you. The next person who types the same name sees the same inbox, including anything still stored there.
What to keep off this address
Do not use a temporary email for a password, a password reset, a bank, a payment, an identity document, or a private conversation. Anyone who knows the mailbox name can open it. A reset link sent here is a public reset link. Those messages belong on a mailbox that has its own login.
Some products refuse domains that are used for disposable inboxes. If a form will not accept the address, that is the form owner's rule. This site will not disguise the domain to get past it.
Open another inbox
Each name is its own inbox. billing+april@themailinator.com is not the same box as billing@themailinator.com. When the test changes, create a new inbox instead of mixing two checks in one list. Read what a disposable email inbox is for if you want the longer boundary, and do not use a public inbox for passwords before you send anything that could unlock an account.