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How Long Does a Temporary Email Last? TTL Explained
It depends on the service: classic temp mail lasts 10 minutes, disposable inboxes like nullmail stay alive for about an hour by default with optional extensions, and 'extended' modes can hold for 24 hours. After expiry, the inbox and every message are permanently deleted.
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Quick answer
A temporary email address typically lasts between 10 minutes and 24 hours, depending on the service. Classic 10-minute mail expires fastest. nullmail inboxes live about 60 minutes by default and can be extended before the countdown reaches zero. A background worker checks expiry timestamps and hard-deletes every message when the time runs out. Deletion is permanent: there is no trash folder, no recovery path, and no archive copy. Mail sent to an expired address bounces instead of being stored. Well-built services never recycle addresses, because cryptographically random generation makes name collisions practically impossible. Plan around the timer by copying codes immediately and extending the inbox for multi-day trial onboarding flows. If a signup matters to you long-term, use a permanent address, because an expired inbox cannot receive a password reset.
Typical expiry windows
| Service style | Typical lifetime | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 10-minute mail | 10 min (often extendable) | One verification code, right now |
| Hourly auto-expiry (nullmail default) | ~60 min | A signup flow with a few emails |
| Extended / 24-hour mode | Up to 24 h | Trial onboarding sequences over a day or two |
| Long-term disposable | Days–weeks | Rare; use an alias instead |
How expiry works under the hood
Every address carries a TTL (time-to-live). A background worker checks expiry timestamps and, when a TTL lapses, marks the inbox expired and hard-deletes every message, body, attachments, metadata. There is no trash folder and no recovery, ever. This is deliberate: data that no longer exists cannot leak, be resold, or be subpoenaed.
On nullmail temp mail, the inbox shows a live countdown. If you need more time, extend before it hits zero, an expired address cannot be resurrected, and mail sent to it afterwards bounces.
Planning around the timer
- Grab the code first. Sign up, switch to the temp inbox, take the verification code, the whole flow usually fits well inside an hour.
- Extend for multi-email flows. Trials that send 'welcome → activate → digest' over days need the extended window, or a second address later.
- Save what matters immediately. Copy any code, link, or content out of the inbox before it expires, there is no going back.
- Don't tie real accounts to it. If you ever need to reset a password, an expired temp address means a locked account.
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Open your free inbox →Temp inboxes are public-by-address: anyone who knows the address can read it. Never use one for anything you need to recover.
Can I recover an expired temporary inbox?
No. Expiry means permanent deletion by design. If a site sends something important to an expired address, create a new address and re-request the email, most services can resend a verification mail.
Do addresses get recycled?
Well-designed services do not recycle addresses quickly, because old addresses may still be registered somewhere. nullmail generates cryptographically random names, so collisions with previously used addresses are effectively impossible.
Does mail sent after expiry bounce?
Yes, once an address is purged, the mail server no longer accepts mail for it and sending servers receive a failure. Nothing is stored 'pending' for a dead address.
Can I extend a temporary inbox before it expires?
Yes. nullmail shows a live countdown and lets you extend before it reaches zero, adding a fresh window to the remaining time. Once expiry passes, the address and all messages are permanently deleted. Extension is the right move for multi-email trial flows.
Last updated: 2026-09-02