Quickstart

Create your first temporary email address in under 30 seconds

Get started with Zapmail

This guide will walk you through creating and using your first temporary email address with Zapmail.

1. Navigate to Zapmail

   Open your web browser and go to the Zapmail homepage. You’ll see a hero section with the tagline “Temp Mail which is Reliable, Secure, Efficient, Quick, Powerful.”

   Click the Get Started button to begin.

2. Choose your username

   You’ll be taken to the mail page where you can create your temporary email address.

   Enter your desired username in the input field. Your full email address will be:

   [e-mail]
   

   Choose a unique username that’s easy to remember. You’ll need it to access your inbox later.

   Usernames are case-insensitive and will be converted to lowercase automatically.

3. Access your inbox

   Click the Next button to access your inbox. This will take you to your personal inbox page:

   /user?q=username
   

   You’ll see your email address displayed at the top of the page. If no emails have been received yet, you’ll see a “No emails found” message.

4. Use your temporary email

   Now you can use your temporary email address anywhere you need it. Simply provide:

   [e-mail]
   

   When someone sends an email to this address, it will appear in your inbox automatically.

5. View incoming emails

   When emails arrive, they’ll be displayed as cards in your inbox showing:

   • Subject line - The email subject
   • Preview text - First few lines of the email body
   • Date received - When the email was received

   Click on any email card to view the full message content.

Understanding your inbox

Your Zapmail inbox provides a clean interface for managing temporary emails:

Email list view

The main inbox displays all emails received at your address in reverse chronological order (newest first). The interface includes:

• Back button - Return to create a new temporary email
• Email address header - Your current temporary email address
• Scrollable list - All received emails with subject and preview

Reading emails

Click any email to view the full content. Zapmail parses and displays:

• From address - Who sent the email
• Subject - Email subject line
• Date - When the email was received
• Body - Full email content (both plain text and HTML)
• Attachments - Any files attached to the email

Emails are parsed using the mailparser library to ensure proper rendering of both plain text and HTML content.

Important limitations

Zapmail is designed for receiving emails only. You cannot send emails from your temporary address.

7-day retention policy

All emails are automatically deleted after 7 days. This is enforced by a cleanup job that runs every hour:

func startCleanupJob(db *sql.DB) {
	ticker := time.NewTicker(1 * time.Hour)
	go func() {
		for range ticker.C {
			_, err := db.Exec(`DELETE FROM emails WHERE received_at < NOW() - INTERVAL '7 days'`)
			if err != nil {
				log.Println("Error cleaning up old emails:", err)
			} else {
				log.Println("Cleanup job: Old emails removed.")
			}
		}
	}()
}

Save any important information from your temporary emails within 7 days, as deleted emails cannot be recovered.

Privacy considerations

• Disposable protection - Your temporary email protects your real email address from spam, advertising mailings, and malware
• Anonymous and free - No registration or personal information required
• No recovery - Once emails are deleted, they are permanently removed for security and privacy reasons
• Shared usernames - After expiration, the same email address might be assigned to another user

Key benefits

Spam protection

Keep your real email address safe from spam and marketing lists

No registration

Start using temporary emails instantly without creating an account

Privacy first

Stay anonymous and protect your identity online

Free forever

Completely free with no hidden costs or limitations

Common use cases

Forum and website registrations

Many forums, Wi-Fi owners, websites and blogs ask visitors to register before they can view content, post comments, or download something. Use your Zapmail address to register without exposing your real email.

One-time verifications

For account verifications you only need once, Zapmail provides a convenient solution:

[e-mail]

Some services may block temporary email domains. If you encounter issues, the service may have restrictions on disposable email addresses.

Testing and development

Developers can use Zapmail to test email functionality without setting up complex mail servers or using personal email addresses.

Need help?

If you have questions about using Zapmail:

• Check our FAQ for answers to common questions
• Review our Privacy & Security documentation to understand how we protect your data
• Explore the API Actions if you’re integrating Zapmail into your application

Remember: Your temporary email address remains active as long as you’re using it. Emails are only deleted after 7 days of being received.