When you want to safeguard your privacy online a good place to start is by using a disposable email address. It allows you to sign up to services or send messages anonymously, or just cut down on the amount of spam your real email address receives.

One of the best options for creating temporary email addresses is YOPmail. Let's take a look at how to use it.

What Is YOPmail?

YOPmail is a disposable email service. It lets you use any "yopmail.com" email address you want and gives you access to the inbox for that address---even if someone else is already using it.

yopmail

You can use YOPmail wherever you're asked to enter an email address but don't want to use your real account. Use it for websites that ask you to sign up, or apps you're testing that want you to log into, and you won't be inundated with newsletters or have to deal with spam in Gmail.

Unlike a regular email account, YOPmail is not private or password protected, so you should only use it for throwaway purposes. Never use it for anything personal or important.

You also don't need to set it up. Whenever you need to fill in an address form on a website and don't want to use your own, just type in a random address and you're good to go.

How to Create a YOPmail Account

You can, in theory, use YOPmail without ever needing to visit YOPmail.com. When you visit a website that asks for your email, enter [anything]@yopmail.com and it will be accepted as a genuine email address.

If you do need access to the inbox---maybe to validate an account, or to grab a free download a site is offering---you've got two options.

yopmail inbox
  1. In the box at the top left of the YOPmail website, labeled Type the Email name of your choice, enter the first part of the address you chose and click Check Inbox.
  2. Alternatively, just go to yopmail.com/[your chosen address] and you'll arrive straight at the inbox. You don't need a password in either case.

When you use a simple, common word for your address you'll almost certainly find that it's already being used. The inbox is likely to be full of spam and messages for other people. This is fine because all YOPmail inboxes are public and shared.

But remember that just as you can see other people's stuff, they'll be able to see yours. For this reason, you should never use a disposable email address for anything even vaguely connected to your real identity.

You can get a little more privacy by using a random combination of letters for your email address. It's unlikely anyone else would use, say, dd5-73tq4@yopmail.com, so you should have that inbox to yourself. Even so, it's still public, and not secure.

yopmail generator

You can use the YOPmail Generator tool to help create unique addresses. Find it in the Random Email Address section of the website's sidebar. You'll also find links to browser plugins for Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera, but none of these are available anymore.

Disadvantages of a YOPmail Disposable Address

YOPmail is easy to use and works as promised. However, some sites have cottoned on to the existence of disposable email addresses, so you might occasionally find that they don't accept YOPmail as a valid address.

To work around that, the service offers a few alternative domains you can try instead. Use any of the addresses below and the messages you receive will be automatically forwarded to the corresponding YOPmail address.

  • @yopmail.fr
  • @yopmail.net
  • @cool.fr.nf
  • @jetable.fr.nf
  • @nospam.ze.tc
  • @nomail.xl.cx
  • @mega.zik.dj
  • @speed.1s.fr
  • @courriel.fr.nf
  • @moncourrier.fr.nf
  • @monemail.fr.nf
  • @monmail.fr.nf

More Disposable Email Addresses

Using a temporary email address is a great way of protecting your privacy and cutting down on the amount of spam you get.

YOPmail isn't the only option available. Take a look at our guide at some of the other best disposable email services for more choices.

You can also use disposable user accounts as another way of safeguarding your privacy and hiding your identity online.