Disposable email or email alias?
Both keep your real address away from a site. They do not work the same way, and they do not suit the same accounts.
A disposable inbox
An address that receives on its own, apart from your real inbox, then disappears. Nothing it receives reaches your real inbox. nerdbox is one, and a private one: only you read it.
A forwarding alias
An address that sends everything on to your real inbox, until you turn it off. Firefox Relay, SimpleLogin, DuckDuckGo Email Protection and Apple’s Hide My Email work this way.
And a Gmail “+” address?
It is your real address with a suffix: the site still knows your real address, and can remove the suffix.
Which to choose
- An alias for an account you keep: a shop, a newsletter you want, a service you will log into again.
- A disposable inbox for a one-off sign-up, a code, a download, a Wi-Fi network, a trial.
Nothing stops you from using both.
| What matters | Forwarding alias | nerdbox |
|---|---|---|
| Where the mail lands (sources 1, 2, 3, 4) | In your real inbox, forwarded | In your nerdbox space, apart |
| How long the address lasts (sources 2, 5) | Until you delete it | 24 hours, up to 7 days |
| Reply (sources 6, 7, 8) | Yes with SimpleLogin and DuckDuckGo; with Firefox Relay, on its paid plan | No: receive only |
| Free plan (sources 6, 8, 9, 10) | 5 masks at Firefox Relay, 10 aliases at SimpleLogin, practically unlimited at DuckDuckGo; Hide My Email comes with iCloud+ | Free, 5 active addresses at a time |
Sources
- Firefox Relay, home page, read on October 6, 2026
- SimpleLogin, home page, read on October 6, 2026
- DuckDuckGo, Where is the inbox for my Duck Address?, read on October 6, 2026
- Apple, What is Hide My Email?, read on October 6, 2026
- DuckDuckGo, Do private Duck Addresses expire?, read on October 6, 2026
- SimpleLogin, pricing, read on October 6, 2026
- DuckDuckGo, How do I reply from my Duck Address?, read on October 6, 2026
- Firefox Relay, FAQ, read on October 6, 2026
- DuckDuckGo, What is Email Protection?, read on October 6, 2026
- Apple, iCloud User Guide: Hide My Email, read on October 6, 2026
Facts about other services come from their own public pages, read on October 6, 2026, and quoted as they say them. They may have changed since: if something is out of date, tell us through the contact page and we will correct it.
Try nerdbox
A free account, then a private disposable address whenever a site asks for one.
With Google, GitHub or your email. By creating an account, you accept the terms of use and the privacy policy.