The address you choose affects who can read a message and whether you can recover an account later. A public receiving inbox, a private forwarding mask, and a plus address solve different problems. Choose based on the access you need and the consequences if someone else sees the message.
Compare the access each option provides
| Question | SableMail public inbox | Private forwarding mask | Plus address |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where does mail appear? | A page opened by inbox name | The private mailbox mapped to the mask | Usually the underlying private mailbox |
| Who can read it? | Anyone who opens the same name | People with mailbox access and the service handling delivery | People with underlying mailbox access |
| Does it hide your main address from the website? | You provide a public address instead | Typically yes, with forwarding handled by the provider | The base address is usually visible by removing the +tag |
| Future account recovery? | Do not use it for recovery | Only while you retain the mask and private mailbox | Only while the provider supports it and you retain the mailbox |
| Can you reply? | SableMail is receive-only | Depends on provider and plan | Depends on provider |
| Can you disable one address? | There is no user-owned address to revoke | Many services offer per-mask controls | A tag is not necessarily a separately controlled address |
How Email Aliases Work
A forwarding service creates an address mapped to a mailbox you control. Mozilla's Relay documentation describes generating a mask, receiving forwarded messages, and disabling or deleting the mask. The website gets the mask rather than your main address, but the forwarding provider still processes the mail.
Before using a mask for a long-term account, check how you retain it, whether replies are supported, and what happens if the service or your plan changes. Keep it with the account entry in your password manager. Deleting an alias too early can break future recovery.
The Mechanics of Disposable Emails
SableMail has no private login, forwarding, or exclusive ownership of a name. Anyone opening the same public inbox can read its messages. Messages follow a 24-hour retention policy with daily automatic AWS cleanup, and a visitor can copy what they read while it is available. Use only data that is safe to expose.
For example, you can give a harmless welcome-email test and a synthetic order-notification test different fresh names. This separates the messages without sharing a personal mailbox. Any link in those messages must lead to restricted test access, with no real customers or valuable credentials involved.
Plus addressing organizes mail without concealing the base address
A plus address looks like reader+newsletter@provider.example. Providers that support it may deliver to reader@provider.example and offer filtering by tag. The base address remains visible, so this is different from concealing it with a forwarding mask. Some forms reject plus addresses; verify support with your provider and the service you are using.
Choosing the Right Tool
For a store where you may need a receipt or return, use a supported private mask or permanent mailbox. For an app you own in staging, a public inbox can help if the entire account and message are harmless to expose. For banking, employment, government, healthcare, or private communications, use a secure private mailbox you control and follow the service's address requirements.
Move a lasting account to a private address
- Sign in through the genuine service while you still have legitimate access.
- Change the email to an address you control and complete its verification step.
- Check that future messages and recovery go to the new private address.
- Do not rely on deletion of public messages as a way to secure the old address.
Do not use a public inbox to evade signup restrictions, access another person's account, or abuse trials. If a service requires a permanent address, follow its rules or choose a supported private alternative.