Address lifespan / expiry
From getting an address to its expiry
The time you spend waiting for an email isn’t the time left on your address. Check the countdown, then decide whether to keep waiting, add an hour, or switch to long-term email.
Use the countdown in the tool. “One-hour email” is the name of our product; newly created addresses currently have an initial validity of 3 hours through the API. We don’t access your email credentials or create, extend, or delete mailboxes on your behalf.
One address, from start to finish
Go from the verification page back to your inbox—don’t leave the last step until after expiry.
-
Get an address
Wait for the address to be created on the homepage, then copy it into the form. The expiry countdown starts when the address is created, not when the first email arrives.
View current address -
Submit and wait for the email
Keep the inbox page open; auto-refresh checks for new mail. The portal and sender may take time to process your request, and refreshing won’t extend the address’s validity.
Check how to enter it in the portal -
Read and save
Open the confirmation email and note any information you need before the address expires. If you’re waiting for another confirmation, check whether you need to extend the address before then.
Learn how to add time -
When it expires
Don’t rely on the old address to receive mail or access existing messages. A new address is a different mailbox; it won’t bring back emails from the original one.
What happens at expiry
Plan before you keep waiting
Ten minutes isn’t enough—
how much longer do you need?
Compare your estimated wait with the time remaining shown in your inbox. Add 15 minutes to open the email, complete verification, or request another message.
A plan is not a delivery guarantee. Senders may delay or reject temporary email addresses. Extending an address gives you more time to use it but can’t guarantee that an email will arrive.
Compare 10-minute, one-hour, and long-term emailKeep the address; add time only
Add an hour before it expires
If you’ve already given the address to a portal, don’t switch just to wait a little longer. Extending keeps the same address, so the sender can still deliver to the same inbox.
Return to your inbox and select “Add 3 hours.” Wait for the success message, then check that the expiry time has changed. If the request fails, don’t assume the address was extended just because you clicked the button.
Use only the updated expiry time
- Check the address and countdown to make sure it hasn’t expired.
- Each action explicitly requests an additional
hours: 3. - After a successful extension, the expiry time updates and a confirmation appears.
An extension doesn’t restart the initial validity period or resend emails from the portal. The maximum validity and whether you can extend again depend on the tool and the API response.
After expiry
No longer accessible doesn’t mean immediately erased
For practical purposes, treat expiry as the end. Data processing does not guarantee that every copy is deleted at the same moment.
Address access ends
After expiry, don’t give this address to new websites. Saving the address string doesn’t mean you still have access to its inbox.
Saved credentials can’t restore access
Saved browser credentials can’t revive an expired mailbox. Refreshing the page or creating a new address won’t restore the original one either.
Don’t rely on future emails
Password reset links, notifications, and replacement verification codes sent after expiry are not reliable ways to receive mail. Update your address on the original website first.
Deletion has limits
The end of user access and completion of backend cleanup are not the same thing. This page makes no guarantees about immediate permanent deletion, backup cleanup times, or data recovery.
For details on how data is handled, see the Privacy Policy; for usage restrictions, see the Terms of Service. Don’t use temporary email as a vault for confidential files or a long-term identity credential.
The same button can do different things
To keep waiting for the original email, extend the address. Switch or delete only if you want to end the old mailbox.
| Action | Address and emails | What happens to the time | What to do first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extend | Keep the current address; extending won’t actively clear existing emails. | Each successful extension adds 3 hours. Use the expiry time returned by the tool. | Make sure the address hasn’t expired and wait for confirmation. |
| Switch address | Creates a new mailbox and deletes the old one; the original address and emails are not transferred. | The new mailbox starts a fresh countdown. The current API starts it at 3 hours; time added to the old mailbox doesn’t carry over. | Save anything you need from the old mailbox, then submit the new address to the portal. |
| Delete | Ends the current mailbox. Don’t rely on the old address or credentials afterward. | Doesn’t wait for the remaining countdown to run out. | Make sure no verification is in progress and save any information you need. |
| Natural expiry | The original mailbox is no longer reliably accessible, and there’s no way to recover it. | When the expiry time shown in your inbox is reached. | Complete verification, save anything you need, or switch addresses before expiry. |
For example, you’ve entered the old address on a hotel sign-in page, but the confirmation email hasn’t arrived yet. Switching addresses won’t bring that email over. Check the original address and expiry time first; if you do need to switch, return to the portal and submit the new address.See how public Wi-Fi sign-in works.
Take important information with you
Use this for short-term verification;
use another address for ongoing contact
A one-time Wi-Fi sign-in can be over before refunds, bills, or account recovery even begin. First, consider when you might receive the next email.
I only need this verification code
Complete verification before the address expires. The sender’s code may have its own expiry time, which won’t be extended when you extend the mailbox. Don’t share verification codes with anyone.
I need to keep confirmation details
Before expiry, note any order numbers, dates, or confirmation details you need. Saving an email doesn’t keep the address active or guarantee that its links will still work later.
I’ll receive more notifications later
For refunds, subscription bills, sign-in alerts, and account recovery, use an email address you check regularly or set up long-term forwarding first. If you’ve already linked a temporary address, update it on the original website while you can still receive emails.
Sign in to set up long-term forwardingCheck how much time is left before taking the next step
A plan won’t extend your address. Go back to your inbox and check the actual countdown and the result of your action.