What is 10 minute mail?
10 minute mail is a temporary email address with a clock built in. It works the moment the page opens, receives real mail for ten minutes, and then deletes itself with everything that arrived. Ten minutes is enough to sign up, receive a verification code and confirm it, and short enough that the address is gone before anyone can mail it again.
The clock is the feature. A temporary address that lives for days collects newsletters, password-reset attempts and whatever the site passes your address on to; an address that lives for ten minutes collects the one message you came for. If ten minutes turns out to be too short, you add ten more, up to an hour in total, and if the address turns out to matter, you can keep it.
People reach for it when a form stands between them and something small: a coupon, a PDF, a one-time download, the Wi-Fi in a hotel lobby, a comment on a forum they will never visit again. Testers use it to check that a sign-up email arrives and its link works, without filling a real inbox with test accounts. In each case the useful life of the address is a few minutes, and the clock matches it.
What happens during the ten minutes?
- Minute zero: the address existsIt is made when the page opens: ten random characters on one of our receiving domains. The timer starts now, not when the first message arrives.
- Seconds later: the code arrivesVerification mail usually lands within seconds. The code is pulled out of the message and shown in the inbox list, with a button to copy it.
- Before the timer ends: extend if you need toEach press of +10 minutes adds ten more, up to sixty minutes from when the address was made. Arriving mail does not reset the clock.
- When it reaches zero: everything is deletedThe address stops receiving and every message in it is deleted, with no archive. Opening the page again gives you a new address.
Is ten minutes long enough?
For a sign-up code, almost always. Most services send verification mail within seconds, and the few that queue it rarely take more than a minute or two. Where ten minutes falls short is a sign-up in two steps: a code now, and a welcome message with a link that matters twenty minutes later. That is what the extension is for; press it before the timer runs out, not after.
Closing the tab does not end the address. The key to it is a cookie in your browser, so reopening mycloude in the same browser before the clock runs out brings back the same address and its messages. On another device, or in a private window, you get a new one.
Ten minutes, an hour or 30 days: which do you need?
| Compared | 10 minutes | Extended to an hour | Kept for 30 days | Your own domain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free | $2.99 once | A Brand My Inbox plan |
| Good for | A sign-up code | Slow senders and two-step sign-ups | A trial or an order you want to follow | Accounts you keep |
| At the end | Deleted with its messages | Deleted with its messages | Stops receiving; buying again adds 30 days | Nothing ends: it is yours |
| Receives a password reset next month | No | No | Only within the 30 days | Yes |
Most people never need more than the first column. The other three exist for the moment you realise a throwaway sign-up is going to matter, and each is one step, taken from the same inbox, without starting over.
Keeping is one payment, not a subscription. When the 30 days end the address stops receiving, nothing renews by itself, and the messages it collected stay readable in your workspace until you delete them.
Why do temporary addresses expire so fast?
Because a short life is what makes them safe to throw away. An address that keeps working keeps collecting: the mailing list you were added to, the partners that list is shared with, and eventually spam. Deleting the address and its messages after ten minutes means there is nothing left to collect and nothing stored to leak.
It also keeps the service usable. Sites block disposable domains once they see abuse coming from them, and short-lived, rate-limited addresses produce far less of it than inboxes that live for weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Can I extend 10 minute mail?
Yes. Press +10 minutes before the timer runs out and the address lives ten minutes longer, up to an hour from when it was made. After an hour the only way to go on receiving is to keep the address, which costs $2.99 once for 30 days.
What happens when the 10 minutes run out?
The address stops receiving and is deleted together with every message in it. There is no archive and no recycle bin. Mail sent to it afterwards is not received, and the address is never handed to anyone else.
Does a new message reset the timer?
No. The clock counts from the moment the address was made, and only the +10 minutes button moves it. That keeps the limit honest: an address cannot be kept alive for days just by mailing it.
If I close the tab, is my address gone?
Not until its time is up. The key to the inbox is a cookie in this browser, so opening mycloude again in the same browser brings back the same address and its messages. A different device or a private window starts a new one.
Why ten minutes and not a day?
Ten minutes is enough to receive and confirm a sign-up code, and short enough that the address is gone before anyone can mail it again. You can stretch it to an hour when you need to; a day-long inbox would mostly collect marketing.
Can I choose the address myself?
No. Every address is ten random characters, which is what makes it hard to guess and impossible to claim someone else's. An address whose name you choose, and which stays yours, is an address on your own domain.
Is 10 minute mail the same as temp mail?
Yes, with the lifetime in the name. Temp mail, disposable email and 10 minute mail all describe an inbox without an account that deletes itself; here the default life is ten minutes, extendable to an hour.
Does 10 minute mail work on a phone?
Yes. It is a web page, so it works in any mobile browser without an app: open it, copy the address, switch to the app you are signing up in, and come back for the code.
Can I get the same 10 minute address back tomorrow?
No. Once an address expires it is gone for good. If you think you will need it again, keep it before the timer runs out: that moves it and its messages into a workspace of your own for 30 days.
Is 10 minute mail free?
Yes. The address, the inbox and the extensions up to an hour are free, with no ads and no sign-up. Only keeping an address beyond its hour costs money: $2.99 once, for 30 days.