The Disposable, Simple Email Address

How many times has this happened to you? You visit a web site but registration is required, with a valid email address needed for confirmation. But maybe it's just a message board you want to read one time only, or a store you have no interest in shopping from again and from which you don't want to be saddled with a lifetime of spam. And you can't use a made-up email address because you have to confirm a link or send back a reply.

One solution is to register for a free email account specifically for uses like this by visiting one of any number of web-based mail systems, such as Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, or Gmail, but registering for any of these takes an eternity. Then there are passwords to contend with, a mother's maiden name to input, all kinds of overhead in getting the account set up and logged into. I use these kinds of accounts, but sometimes the password gets lost, and eventually they fill with spam, making it a pain to navigate.

Well here's a brain-dead simple solution to the problem: 10 Minute Mail (Note: Web traffic from this story may be causing the 10 Minute Mail site to crash. If it doesn't load, try it again later.), which provides, for free, exactly what is promised in the name: An email address that vanishes after 10 minutes. There's no registration, no verification. Just click over to the site and hit "Get my 10 Minute Mail e-mail address." You'll instantly be given an address that ceases to exist after 10 minutes. You can then use this address in filling out web forms or whatnot, and a very simple web-based interface gives you full access to any mail the account receives. You can reply to any messages, but you can't send mail to an account that hasn't already emailed you. If you can't get the job done in 10 minutes, you can reset the timer to 10 minutes at any time. There's no need to login, no password to remember.

For safe surfing and spam avoidance, I haven't found a simpler, more elegant solution than 10 Minute Mail. It works flawlessly and couldn't be easier to use. It's earned a place in my Favorites folder. Give it a spin and see what you think!

(Update: The site seems to be having trouble handling the crush of traffic from this post. You might bookmark this page and try again in a few hours.)