Terms of Service

Terms of Service: Rules for Using OnceEmail

This agreement sets the ground rules between OnceEmail and every visitor. We kept it plain: what you may do, what you must not do, and what happens when something goes wrong — no traps in the fine print.

Last updated: August 1, 2026 · Data handling is covered in the Privacy Policy

Key terms at a glance

  • Completely free, no upsells Every feature stays free — there is no paid tier
  • Receive-only — no sending Neither temp addresses nor aliases can send mail
  • Temp mail expires within 24 hours 3-hour default lifetime, extendable up to 24 hours total
  • You must be 16 or older Under-16 users need explicit guardian consent
  • Illegal use is prohibited Violations may result in immediate access suspension

What is allowed, what is not

Normal everyday use is fully welcome. Use this side-by-side guide to see where your use case falls.

Permitted uses

  • ✓ Sign up for sites, forums, or apps with a burner to keep your real inbox clean
  • ✓ Download ebooks, whitepapers, or free resources using a disposable address
  • ✓ Route different contexts (shopping, newsletters, work) through separate forwarding aliases
  • ✓ Test outbound email flows as a developer or QA engineer with temp inboxes
  • ✓ Protect privacy on public Wi-Fi or unfamiliar sites with a throwaway address
  • ✓ Share a forwarding alias with people you trust so they can reach you without your real email

Prohibited conduct

  • ✕ Sending, receiving, or relaying spam or unsolicited bulk commercial mail through the Service
  • ✕ Distributing malware, phishing content, fraud schemes, or any unlawful material
  • ✕ Mass account creation, automated temp-mail harvesting, or evading rate limits
  • ✕ Using the Service for activities that violate applicable laws where you live
  • ✕ Impersonating people or organizations via forwarding aliases to deceive recipients
  • ✕ Attacking, probing, or disrupting OnceEmail servers and infrastructure

Full terms of service

The sections below are the binding agreement between OnceEmail and you. Please read them before using the Service.

Acceptance

Accessing or using any part of onceemail.com means you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you disagree with any section, stop using the Service immediately.

These Terms together with the Privacy Policy form the complete agreement between you and OnceEmail. If the two documents conflict, these Terms prevail except on data-processing matters, where the Privacy Policy controls.

We may revise these Terms from time to time. Updates will show a new "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, for material changes, notice at least 30 days before they take effect. Continued use after that date means acceptance.

Eligibility

You may use the Service only if:

  • You are at least 16 years old, or under 16 with explicit written consent from a parent or legal guardian;
  • You have full legal capacity to enter a binding contract;
  • Your use complies with all laws that apply to you;
  • You have not been permanently banned from the Service for prior violations.

By using the Service, you represent that all of the above are true.

Description of the Service

OnceEmail provides two core features, both free with no hidden fees:

  • Disposable email: no registration required — opening the homepage assigns a temp address. Default lifetime is 3 hours, extendable up to 24 hours total, after which the address and all mail are destroyed;
  • Permanent forwarding aliases: sign in with a real email via verification code, then create up to 100 aliases. Mail to an alias forwards to your real inbox and remains in a 30-day online archive.

Both features are receive-only — neither can send mail in any form. That restriction exists to prevent spam abuse and has no exceptions.

Message size is capped: anything over 100 MB (body plus attachments combined) is rejected server-side with no delivery. Temp inboxes do not retain attachments; relay aliases apply tiered attachment rules — see the limits reference.

User conduct

You are responsible for everything you do through the Service and must not:

  • Use the Service to send, receive, store, or spread unlawful content, including material that infringes intellectual property, exploits minors, promotes terrorism or hate, or facilitates fraud or phishing;
  • Run bulk operations, automated scripts, or any attempt to bypass rate limits;
  • Access, test, scan, or attack OnceEmail systems without authorization;
  • Use the Service for spam, unsolicited advertising, or mail sent without recipient consent;
  • Engage in impersonation, fraud, or deceptive practices through aliases or temp addresses;
  • Interfere with other users' access to the Service.

Violating any item above may result in immediate suspension or termination without notice and without compensation.

Accounts and security

Forwarding aliases require an account identified by your real email address. There is no fixed password — each login uses a one-time code sent to that inbox.

You are responsible for securing access to your real email. Anyone who can read your inbox can request login codes and access your OnceEmail account. If you suspect unauthorized access, contact support@onceemail.com immediately.

Sessions last 7 days, then expire automatically; you may also sign out manually at any time. We recommend signing out after use on shared devices.

Enabling TOTP two-factor authentication in Security settings materially improves account protection.

Intellectual property

OnceEmail's website design, code, branding, copy, and other original content are our intellectual property and protected by applicable law.

You retain rights to mail you receive; content is the sender's responsibility. OnceEmail claims no ownership of message content and accepts no liability for it.

Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license for personal use of the Service. This license does not permit commercial exploitation, redistribution, reverse engineering, or building a competing product on our infrastructure.

Disclaimers

The Service is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. Specifically:

  • Availability: we do not guarantee 100% uptime. Maintenance, upgrades, network issues, or force majeure may interrupt service; we will minimize impact but are not liable for downtime losses;
  • Delivery: we cannot guarantee every message sent to a temp address or alias will arrive — some senders or receiving servers block our domain, which is outside our control;
  • Data loss: temp mail is destroyed on expiry and relay archive entries after 30 days — save anything important before those deadlines; we are not liable for loss from scheduled deletion;
  • Third-party content: mail content is the sender's responsibility; OnceEmail makes no warranty about its accuracy, legality, or safety.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, OnceEmail and its operators are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages, including lost profits, lost data, lost goodwill, business interruption, or cost of substitute services — whether based in contract, tort, or otherwise, even if we were advised such damages were possible.

OnceEmail's total liability for any single claim shall not exceed the amount you paid OnceEmail in the 12 months before the claim (which, because the Service is free, is zero).

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain liability exclusions; those limits may not fully apply to you.

Suspension and account closure

Your closure: email support@onceemail.com anytime to delete your account. We remove associated data within 14 business days and confirm by reply. Alias addresses are permanently released and cannot be restored.

Our suspension: if you breach these Terms or your use harms other users, our systems, or third parties, we may suspend or terminate access immediately without prior notice. We are not liable for data loss caused by enforcement action.

Service shutdown: if OnceEmail permanently discontinues the Service, we will post notice at least 60 days in advance so you can save important data.

Changes to the Service

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any feature at any time, though we will try to give advance notice of major changes.

We may also amend these Terms. Material updates will appear on this page with a new date and take effect no sooner than 30 days after notice. Minor edits (wording, formatting) may not receive separate notification.

Disputes

For complaints or disputes, contact support@onceemail.com first. We will work in good faith to resolve the issue within 30 business days.

If informal resolution fails, the matter may be submitted to a competent court or arbitration body. These Terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction where the Service is operated.

The English version of these Terms is authoritative; if translations exist, the English text prevails in case of conflict.

Miscellaneous

Entire agreement: these Terms plus the Privacy Policy constitute the full agreement between you and OnceEmail and supersede all prior understandings.

Severability: if any provision is held invalid, it will be modified to the minimum extent needed to make it enforceable; the rest remains in effect.

No waiver: failure or delay in enforcing any right does not waive that right.

Contact: questions about these Terms go to support@onceemail.com.

Rules clear? Start using OnceEmail

Normal use is completely straightforward. Grab a disposable address on the homepage, or sign in and create your first forwarding alias.

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