How to Detect Disposable Email Addresses

Last Updated: July 6, 2021

Disposable email addresses are those that are intended only for temporary use. Users may not even read the emails in these accounts, and often, they may never use them again. People typically use disposable email addresses to avoid giving their official addresses when signing up for online services. This strategy helps protect their privacy since email addresses are considered personally identifiable information (PII). However, some people also use disposable email addresses to take advantage of free trial periods and freemium features offered by companies like Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms. This WikiHow teaches you how to detect disposable email addresses.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:
Using Repository Management Platforms

1
Search for disposable email domains lists on repository management sites. An example of such a platform is GitHub.
- Go to GitHub. In the search bar, type “disposable email domains.” A disposable email domains database contains a list of email domains created by disposable email providers. Several of these databases are available on GitHub for free.
2
Click a result to inspect the disposable email domains list. You will see a list of files. Databases on GitHub and other repository management platforms may have multiple contributors that source data from blocklist sites. It’s important to check the databases first before downloading to see which ones suit your needs.
3
Open the file that contains the list of disposable email domains. There is no naming convention, but they are mostly labeled logically.
4
Check the number of lines. This number represents the number of disposable email domains the database has. You can also see the number of contributors, which may be one of the considerations as well.
5
Download the selected disposable email domains database. You may need to download numerous or all repositories on the search results page to ensure you have a comprehensive list of disposable email domains. To do this, click the button that says “Code” then select “Download ZIP” for each chosen database.
6
Get the email domain of the email address you want to check. That is the domain name after the @ symbol. For example, the email domain of hillman@helpage[.]cd is helpage[.]cd.
7
Search for the email domain in the database or databases you downloaded. You can usually do that by pressing Ctrl + F on your keyboard.
8
Determine if the email domain is disposable. If the email domain is on the database then the email address was created using a disposable email address provider and is disposable. On the contrary, if you can’t find the email domain on the database, the email address is not disposable.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:
Using Third-Party Tools

1
Search for third-party vendors of disposable email domain databases. On Google, type “disposable email domains database.”
2
Select a third-party vendor. Most vendors provide disposable email domain databases at a price. However, their lists of disposable email domains may be more complete and regularly updated.
3
Download the disposable email domains from the provider you chose.
4
Get the email domain of the email address you want to check. That is the domain name after the @ symbol. For example, the email domain of hillman@helpage[.]cd is helpage[.]cd.
5
Search for the email domain in the database you downloaded. You can usually do that by pressing Ctrl + F on your keyboard.
6
Determine if the email domain is disposable. If the email domain is on the database then the email address was created using a disposable email address provider and is disposable. On the contrary, if you can’t find the email domain on the database, the email address is not disposable.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:
Using Email Verification Tools

1
Understand what an email verification tool is. Email verification tools are ready-to-use email validation platforms created by third-party vendors. They are also called “email validation tools.” Most of these are tied to a disposable email domain database, along with other data sources, so they can also check if an email address is disposable or not.
2
Go to an online email verification tool’s website. Type in the URL address of the email validation platform in your browser.
3
Type the email address you want to verify. Typically, online email verification tools have search bars where you can input the email address. Some platforms allow you to validate multiple email addresses at once. Others require you to type the email address on the search bar, while some providers enable you to upload an entire list to their servers.
4
Check the result of the email validation. Most email verification tools would explicitly say if the email address is disposable or not. You could also see other findings among the results. For example, most tools would tell you if the email address follows the correct syntax or not.