Say Hello to Goodbye Mails: Temporary Disposable Email Accounts for Creating Accounts

[blunix]

This blog post offers a comprehensive guide to setting up your own disposable email server using OpenSMTPD on an Ubuntu 24.04 server. Perfect for individuals looking to manage temporary email addresses for various service signups like Facebook, Instagram, and more, without the risk of being blacklisted like many public temp mail providers. The post breaks down the process into simple, easy-to-follow steps, ensuring even those with minimal Linux knowledge can establish a privacy-ensuring system at minimal cost. Whether you're looking to dodge spam or manage signups discreetly, this self-hosted solution provides all the tools you need to create and manage temporary emails effectively.


Ultimate Guide to Setting Up Disposable Email Addresses with OpenSMTPD on Ubuntu 24.04

 

[KGIII]

If I notice a temp email address trying to make it through the queue, I nuke it.

This wasn't a starting point, but rather a finishing point. They are invariably spammers.

I'm sure this isn't universal, but it has been here. They can sign up with a regular email account.

 

[blunix]

If I notice a temp email address trying to make it through the queue, I nuke it.

yes, of course, to fight spammers.

I'm sure this isn't universal, but it has been here. They can sign up with a regular email account.

I don't get this one. You mean spammers using burnmail accounts?

To be honest I'm a bit on a path to bury SMTP. Its broken in my opinion and we should stop fixing it. It should be replaced by something that has proper encryption to begin with. Half of the worlds SMTP servers out there don't even support proper TLS. The other half runs blacklists that you need to pay for to get delisted (totally contrary to how a RBL should operate).
Nobody (knows how to) use(s) gpg for end to end encryption. The GPG web of trust is largely considered broken.

We could just use Signal and Matrix..

I think paypal can now send you "SMS codes" for signup via whatsapp. I don't get why it has to be a service from meta / facebook () but its a start..

On my mailserver I reject mails from people that I have in matrix / signal with the message "use matrix / signal". Thats the best approach to email. Convert people to use something that has proper e2e, and then ban them from using email x)

For signup you need email accounts mostly, and I dont think forcing people to give out their real / common email addresses is required. I can signup for linux.org using a burnmail account (if I run the burnmail server and you don't ban me lol) and still be a normal member of the community.
Linux.org isn't a good example, but pretty much any website is.
Besides. Most websites send you TONS of spam after you signup. With this kinda approach that becomes irrelevant.

 

[KGIII]

I can signup for linux.org using a burnmail account (if I run the burnmail server and you don't ban me lol) and still be a normal member of the community.

You absolutely can, though you might attract attention. Just don't make your email a bunch of random letters and numbers and we won't notice unless you trigger some flags (which I'll avoid detailing).

If it's not from a single-use email address, it'll work.

I also nuke anyone with a weird domain name that has just a landing page. We get a few of those as well where there's a domain but it'll be 'this domain is for sale' or similar. Those get nuked when spotted. Then, there are the people trying to sign up with an email address that resolves to a gambling/beting site.

All things considered, we do a pretty good job at keeping the site free of overt spam.

There are two other people who deal with this and we do a fairly good job. You don't normally get to see any spam, even though there are many attempts to do so.

 

[bob466]

There types of things have been around for years...you only need to use DuckDuckGo.

 

[blunix]

Well my article is written specifically to avoid that. Although, other than setting up the mail system, which looks like its a full fledged mail system (has all the DNS records required to look like a normal mailserver), there is no website or similar.

I kinda thought about that but didn't want to go too far off-topic in the article.

If it's not from a single-use email address, it'll work.

You mean a single-use public provider like temp-mail.org yes? Those pretty much work nowhere, yes (hence I wrote this article).

I also nuke anyone with a weird domain name that has just a landing page

yeah my idea was to use some AI provider for creating websites really fast. But as said, that would have been to much for the article..

All things considered, we do a pretty good job at keeping the site free of overt spam.

That is CERTAINLY true. I think in my time here I saw one spam thread. But then again, if you spam a forum you do it fully automated to scan for forums that don't have administration at all. Otherwise it takes so much effort that you might as well, or actually have to, contribute something.

 

[Terminal Velocity]

I have set one out of my 15 free alias email addresses as disposable, it means I delete it frequently and set up a new one. The service called Simplelogin, owned by Proton based in Switzerland

 

[blunix]

Just looked at the website, in a nutshell thats the same thing just not self hosted I think.

 

[KGIII]

But then again, if you spam a forum you do it fully automated to scan for forums that don't have administration at all.

I don't want to be too descriptive but much of our system is automated. So, it takes a lot less manual action to deal with spam these days. We get a whole lot of people trying to spam the site. Fortunately, a bunch is weeded out with automation. We used to have to do quite a bit more 'work' to keep the site clear of spam.

 

[blunix]

Seems to work well

 

[f33dm3bits]

This sounds similar to Spam Gourmet.

spamgourmet

spamgourmet provides email addresses that get created automatically the first time they are used, forward messages, and then automatically expire.

www.spamgourmet.com

 

[mdzakirhossain]

blunix said:
Just looked at the website, in a nutshell thats the same thing just not self hosted I think.

You're right—SimpleLogin is a hosted take on disposable aliases/forwarding like your OpenSMTPD setup, but it’s not self-hosted by default (though their open-source code can be deployed via Docker for those who want it). It’s user-friendly with unlimited aliases, PGP on premium, and mobile apps, but self-hosting as you’ve outlined gives unmatched control and avoids third-party risks like service downtime or data policies.

f33dm3bits said:
This sounds similar to Spam Gourmet.
spamgourmet
spamgourmet provides email addresses that get created automatically the first time they are used, forward messages, and then automatically expire.
www.spamgourmet.com

Totally agree, SpamGourmet’s auto-expiring addresses (e.g., [email protected], with x limiting messages to 3-20 before self-destructing) hit a similar note. It’s open-source, with a GitHub fork for self-hosting, and free, but the hosted version has quirks like no attachments and domain flagging risks. Your OpenSMTPD guide dodges that with custom domains, making it look legit and avoiding blacklists, plus it supports wildcard catches or subdomains for family use without message caps.

KGIII, your spam-filtering automation is impressive—keeping forums clean without constant manual work is no small feat. And blunix, your SMTP critique is spot-on: patchy TLS, paid RBL delistings, and GPG’s broken trust model are a nightmare. Pushing Signal/Matrix for E2EE and rejecting email for those contacts is bold and forward-thinking. Temp emails are still a must for signups, though, since most sites aren’t there yet—your self-hosted approach keeps privacy first without forcing real emails into spam-heavy ecosystems.

For those using this setup for dev work (e.g., testing API signups without clogging inboxes), I’ve built a tool that might complement it: Boomlify , a temporary email service with a REST API for programmatic inbox creation. The free tier offers 150 mailboxes, 50 daily creations, and 60 RPM, perfect for hybrid workflows (e.g., validate with your OpenSMTPD server, test via Boomlify’s API). It includes VBA/Excel snippets for scripting bulk tasks, uses Gmail-backed infrastructure for reliable deliverability, and has no ads on paid tiers. Credits (1 for short-lived, 15 for permanent) never expire, and paid tiers scale to 5k mailboxes with 90-day retention. Check the API docs at https://boomlify.com/api-docs for interactive testing.

Awesome guide, blunix—bookmarked! Anyone tried pairing OpenSMTPD with rspamd for smarter auto-expiration based on sender whitelists?

 

[KGIII]

I’ve built a tool that might complement it:

I decided to allow this through the spam filter. The only reason I did so was because you disclosed your affiliation with the project. It might be useful, but folks can use a search engine to find tools like that.

Don't make posting your site a habit, or it'll be considered spam.

 

[mdzakirhossain]

I decided to allow this through the spam filter. The only reason I did so was because you disclosed your affiliation with the project. It might be useful, but folks can use a search engine to find tools like that.

Don't make posting your site a habit, or it'll be considered spam.

thank u very much. ❤

 

[KGIII]

thank u very much. ❤

Your service looks useful for people dealing with a ton of email servers -- but it also looks like it could be used by spammers.

"Testing" API signups looks like something that could be valuable, and nefarious. Do you have a lot of spammers using your services, at least that you're aware of? I assume you ban any spammers, being a good netizen and all that.

 

[mdzakirhossain]

Thanks for your thoughtful question!
It’s an honor to have you visit Boomlify!

Boomlify is built purely for legitimate purposes like testing email delivery, API integrations, and managing temporary inboxes — not for sending or facilitating spam. The platform only allows receiving emails, so it can’t be used to send or spread spam messages. there are only internal sending mail available.


We do take abuse seriously, though. Whenever we detect or receive reports of spam-related activity, we investigate and ban those accounts immediately. We’ve also implemented keyword and domain filters that automatically block emails linked to pornography, betting, or other abusive content.


Our goal is to provide a clean, responsible tool that helps developers and everyday users manage temporary email needs safely.

 

[KGIII]

The platform only allows receiving emails, so it can’t be used to send or spread spam messages. there are only internal sending mail available.

That's what I had figured based on what I read.

My line of thinking was that people could maybe use this as some sort of tool in the chain to do things like receive the various emails, like the confirmation emails from a forum. That they could then automate some of that away without needing to manually go through their email accounts to click on the links in comfirmation emails.

That's what I was mostly pondering. I wasn't sure if that was something your site would let them do, as I didn't generate an account to go through the features.

 

[spdan]

I agree that disposable email services can be misused by spammers, but they also have many legitimate use cases. Many privacy-conscious users prefer temporary email addresses when testing services, signing up for newsletters, downloading resources, or avoiding unnecessary spam in their primary inbox.

The real challenge is not temporary email itself, but how websites handle abuse prevention. Modern services can combine disposable email support with rate limiting, CAPTCHA, reputation systems, and other anti-spam measures.

For anyone interested in seeing how modern temporary email platforms work, I've been developing TempMailG, which offers disposable email addresses, Gmail-based temporary addresses, custom domains, API access, email forwarding, and more:

https://tempmailg.com/

API Documentation:
https://tempmailg.com/temp-mail-api-docs

I'd be interested to hear how other administrators balance user privacy with spam prevention on their platforms.

 

[f33dm3bits]

For anyone interested in seeing how modern temporary email platforms work, I've been developing TempMailG, which offers disposable email addresses, Gmail-based temporary addresses, custom domains, API access, email forwarding, and more:

https://tempmailg.com/

API Documentation:
https://tempmailg.com/temp-mail-api-docs

I'd be interested to hear how other administrators balance user privacy with spam prevention on their platforms.

Are you here to promote your own platform or here being part of discussions?

 

[Thunderpants]

Another option for home or small business users is to rent a cheap shared hosting account. Unlimited email addresses to send and receive plus a website and storage space.