Summary
Finding a reliable list of temporary email service domains involves multiple strategies. Publicly available GitHub repositories offer a starting point, but their accuracy can vary due to outdated or dead domains. Services like Kickbox and other email verification providers maintain more current data and can identify disposable emails in real-time. Combining blocklists, real-time verification, pattern recognition, and monitoring signup behavior provides the most effective defense. Threat intelligence services like Spamhaus can indirectly help by identifying malicious addresses. Regularly updating and validating lists and methods is crucial for sustained effectiveness.
Key findings
- GitHub Repositories: Offer a foundational list of disposable email domains but may contain inaccuracies.
- Verification Services: Real-time email verification services provide accurate identification of disposable emails.
- Blocklists & Monitoring: Maintaining blocklists and monitoring signup behavior enhance detection.
- Comprehensive Approach: Combining multiple methods provides the most robust defense.
- Active Maintenance: Regular updates and validation are essential for sustained effectiveness.
Key considerations
- List Accuracy: Verify the accuracy of any list before relying on it.
- Real-Time Costs: Real-time verification services may incur costs.
- False Positives: Minimize false positives to avoid blocking legitimate users.
- Data Privacy: Comply with data privacy regulations when using third-party services.
- Continuous Evolution: Disposable email services are constantly evolving, requiring ongoing adaptation.
What email marketers say
12 marketer opinions
Finding a comprehensive list of temporary email service domains involves multiple approaches. Several GitHub repositories offer lists of disposable email domains. Utilizing email verification services and maintaining blocklists are also highly recommended for real-time detection and filtering. Pattern recognition and regular expression validation can further aid in identifying disposable email addresses. It's important to continuously update and monitor detection methods to effectively combat the challenges posed by temporary email addresses.
Key opinions
- GitHub Repositories: GitHub hosts actively maintained lists of disposable email domains, offering a foundational resource.
- Email Verification Services: Real-time email verification services can identify and filter out disposable email addresses upon signup or submission.
- Blocklists: Maintaining and updating blocklists of known disposable email domains is crucial for preventing their use.
- Pattern Recognition: Implementing pattern recognition and regular expression validation helps in identifying common disposable domain patterns.
- Comprehensive Approach: A combination of methods, including lists, verification services, and pattern analysis, provides the most effective defense.
Key considerations
- Continuous Updates: Disposable email services are constantly evolving, requiring continuous updates to lists and detection methods.
- Email Verification Costs: Implementing real-time email verification services may incur costs, requiring a cost-benefit analysis.
- False Positives: Ensure detection methods minimize false positives, which could inadvertently block legitimate users.
- Service Reliability: Evaluate the reliability and accuracy of email verification services before integration.
- List Maintenance: Manually maintained lists require regular upkeep to ensure accuracy and relevance.
Marketer view
Email marketer from DeBounce defines disposable or temporary emails, explaining they should be detected and blocked, and suggest using specialized email verification tools designed to identify and remove such addresses from your lists to reduce bounce rates and improve email marketing ROI.
11 Aug 2021 - DeBounce
Marketer view
Email marketer from Stack Overflow provides a link to a GitHub repository (disposable-email-domains) which offers a comprehensive list of disposable email domains. This repository is actively maintained and updated.
16 Oct 2022 - Stack Overflow
What the experts say
3 expert opinions
Finding a reliable list of temporary email service domains presents challenges. Existing lists might contain dead domains, making them unreliable on their own. Actively updated databases, such as the one at Kickbox, offer more current information. Implementing strategies like using block lists, email verification services, and monitoring signup patterns are recommended for handling disposable email addresses effectively.
Key opinions
- List Inaccuracy: Many publicly available lists contain outdated or dead domains, reducing their effectiveness.
- Active Updates: Actively maintained databases, like the one at Kickbox, provide more current and reliable information.
- Multi-faceted Approach: Effective handling of disposable email addresses requires a combination of block lists, email verification, and signup monitoring.
Key considerations
- List Validation: Verify the accuracy of any list of temporary email service domains before relying on it.
- Real-Time Verification: Consider implementing real-time email verification services to detect disposable addresses as they are used.
- Behavioral Monitoring: Monitor signup patterns for suspicious activity that may indicate the use of disposable email addresses.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks mentions actively updating disposable domain data at Kickbox as part of a domain analysis project, with recent additions and plans for further expansion.
30 Dec 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, recommends strategies for handling disposable email addresses. She suggests using block lists to reject sign-ups from known temporary email services, and implementing email verification services to detect these addresses in real-time. Additionally, she advises monitoring signup patterns for suspicious behavior.
8 Feb 2024 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Finding a list of temporary email service domains is indirectly addressed by several services. PrivacyWall details how they identify and prevent the use of temporary emails. Mailfence blocks these addresses using both in-house and third-party lists to protect against spam. Kickbox recommends real-time email verification services. While Spamhaus doesn't directly list disposable emails, their threat intelligence tools can help identify and block addresses associated with malicious activity.
Key findings
- Service-Specific Approaches: Different services like PrivacyWall and Mailfence have their own methods for identifying and blocking temporary email addresses.
- Real-Time Verification: Kickbox emphasizes the importance of using real-time email verification services to accurately detect disposable email addresses.
- Threat Intelligence: Spamhaus provides threat intelligence that can indirectly aid in identifying and blocking malicious addresses, including some disposable ones.
- Combined Strategies: Many services employ a combination of in-house lists, third-party data, and verification tools for comprehensive protection.
Key considerations
- Integration: Integrating real-time email verification services requires technical setup and ongoing maintenance.
- Data Privacy: Ensure that data handling practices comply with privacy regulations when using third-party lists and verification services.
- Cost: Utilizing premium threat intelligence and verification services may involve associated costs.
- List Coverage: No single list or service provides complete coverage; a multi-layered approach is necessary.
Technical article
Documentation from Mailfence explains its approach to blocking disposable email addresses, describing how they protect their users from spam and abuse by identifying and rejecting emails from known temporary email providers. They use in-house and third-party lists to achieve this.
4 May 2024 - Mailfence
Technical article
Documentation from PrivacyWall defines temporary (disposable) email addresses and explains how they can be identified, and details how the PrivacyWall service handles them. This includes detecting and preventing the use of such emails for registrations and other activities.
13 Aug 2021 - PrivacyWall
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