Where can I find a list of temporary email service domains?

Key findings

• GitHub repositories: Several community-maintained repositories on GitHub provide lists of disposable email domains. These are often updated by contributors and can serve as a valuable starting point.
• Varying completeness: The completeness and freshness of these lists vary widely. Some lists may contain inactive or 'dead' domains (those without valid MX records), which require additional validation.
• Ongoing effort: Maintaining an accurate list of temporary email domains is an ongoing process due to the dynamic nature of these services. New domains appear frequently, and old ones become inactive.
• Third-party services: Many email validation services incorporate their own curated and updated lists of disposable email domains into their offerings.

Key considerations

• Regular updates: For the most effective filtering, consider lists that are actively maintained and regularly updated. Static lists can quickly become outdated. This is a key aspect of strategies for blocking disposable email domains.
• MX record validation: When using raw domain lists, verify the MX records (mail exchange records) to ensure the domains are still active and capable of receiving email. Domains without valid MX records are often 'dead' and can be safely ignored or removed.
• Integration with workflows: Integrate these lists into your email validation or signup processes to prevent disposable addresses from entering your system. This helps maintain a clean and engaged email list, improving overall email deliverability.
• Legal and ethical considerations: While beneficial for preventing abuse, ensure your use of these lists aligns with privacy regulations and ethical data handling practices, as outlined in guides like this guide on temporary email addresses.

Key opinions

• GitHub as a starting point: Many marketers find community-driven GitHub repositories to be useful initial resources for lists of disposable email domains, despite their varying completeness.
• Yopmail is a classic: Services like YOPmail are frequently cited as examples of the temporary email services they aim to identify and filter.
• Ongoing list maintenance: Marketers recognize that keeping up with new temporary domains is an continuous task, often requiring consistent monitoring or the use of specialized tools.
• Impact on research: Knowing which domains are temporary is essential for conducting accurate research on user engagement and preventing data skew from one-off sign-ups.

Key considerations

• Data freshness: Prioritize lists or services that offer frequent updates, as the landscape of temporary email providers changes rapidly. This ties into the broader topic of finding current lists for email suppression.
• Accuracy challenges: Be aware that not all domains on a generic list may be currently active or truly disposable. Some lists might include domains that have ceased to function, leading to false positives if not validated.
• Filtering strategy: Determine the best strategy for your business, whether it's pre-emptive blocking during signup or ongoing list cleaning. This directly relates to the decision of whether to block disposable email addresses from your email list.
• Utilizing specialized guides: Consult guides and resources that discuss best practices for handling temporary email addresses and provide insights into their identification, like this article from Geekflare on DEA providers.

Key opinions

• MX record validation is key: Many domains on publicly available lists might be 'dead' (no MX records), making them less useful at face value without additional verification. This step is critical for effective filtering.
• Continuous data updates: Updating disposable domain data is a constant, ongoing project. The landscape of temporary email providers is highly dynamic, requiring continuous monitoring and additions.
• Large list volumes: Some blocklists can contain tens of thousands of domains, which requires significant effort to review and integrate effectively into systems.
• Focus on abuse prevention: Experts often view disposable emails as tools for spam or abuse, reinforcing the need for robust identification and blocking mechanisms.

Key considerations

• Beyond basic lists: While public lists are a good start, more advanced solutions often incorporate real-time domain analysis and behavioral data to identify disposable email use. This extends beyond simple what an email blacklist is.
• Automated processes: Due to the volume and transient nature of disposable domains, manual review is impractical. Automated systems for ingesting and validating these lists are essential for efficient management. This ties into managing temporary email generators.
• Resource intensive: The sheer size and dynamic nature of disposable email domain lists mean that effective management is a resource-intensive task, often requiring dedicated data analysis efforts.
• Layered defense: Implement a multi-layered approach to email validation, combining domain blocklists (or blacklists) with other checks to catch disposable email addresses that might not be on a specific list, as discussed on sites like Spam Resource.

Key findings

• GitHub is a primary source: Multiple open-source projects host lists of disposable email domains, often curated by community contributions. These repositories are frequently cited as go-to sources for developers.
• Programmatic access: Many lists are provided in formats suitable for programmatic consumption, such as plain text files or JSON, enabling developers to integrate them into applications.
• Usage in anti-spam: These lists are fundamentally used in spam prevention and abuse detection systems to filter out illegitimate sign-ups and communications.

Key considerations

• Maintainability: Documentation often implies that these lists require constant maintenance due to the emergence of new temporary domains. Users are encouraged to contribute or use actively updated forks.
• Integration complexity: Integrating these raw lists into production systems requires careful consideration of performance, data freshness, and error handling. This is a technical aspect of an in-depth guide to email blocklists.
• License implications: Users should be aware of the licensing terms associated with publicly available lists, especially for commercial applications. For example, the disposable-email-domains repository on GitHub often uses permissive licenses.
• Complementary with validation: While useful, these lists are often part of a larger email validation strategy that includes syntax checks, MX record checks, and other forms of email verification. Consider which email validation services are recommended.