Lifespan planner · Work backward from the final email
How long does a temporary email last? New FadeInbox addresses last 3 hours by default. Don’t just allow a few minutes to enter a code—leave time for the confirmation email that may arrive after you finish.
01 / Leave some breathing room
Estimate the time from creating the address to the last email you need, then add a 30-minute buffer. The planner below assumes a new 3-hour address; it won’t access, change, or extend your actual inbox.
Drag the slider or use the arrow keys. Include time for signing up, testing, and waiting for the final confirmation email.
The extra 30 minutes is a planning suggestion, not a promise about email delivery times. For an existing address, use the time remaining on the home page.
Your new address should last long enough
Your task is estimated to take 2.5 hours, leaving 0.5 hours in the 3-hour window. Check for the final confirmation email before you finish.
Learn how to add 3 hours →02 / The lifespan of an address
This example uses an address created at 14:00 with no extensions. Check the inbox on the home page for the actual time; this example won’t start a countdown for your inbox.
Verification codes may have their own expiration time. An active inbox doesn’t mean the code in an email is still valid.
Waiting too long? Troubleshoot a missing verification code →The 3-hour window starts now. Copy the full address into the form, check that it’s spelled correctly, then request the email.
The inbox checks for new messages automatically, or you can refresh it manually. When an email arrives, check the sender and what it asks you to do. Never share a verification code with someone who doesn’t need it.
Enter the code, finish the test, or submit the form. Don’t switch addresses just yet: some websites send a separate result email after they’ve processed your request.
Make sure you’ve received all the follow-up emails and save anything you need. If anything is still pending, return to the inbox and extend the address while it’s active.
The address stops receiving email, and all messages and attachments in the inbox are deleted. There’s no way to recover them. Don’t use this old address for future notifications or account recovery.
03 / Still waiting for one more email? Extend early
An extension adds 3 hours to the time remaining; it doesn’t reset the countdown to 3 hours. This planner only offers an estimate. Only an action in your inbox can change the address’s expiration time.
04 / Know the difference between these three actions
Deleting content early, switching to a new address, and letting an address expire affect different things. Before switching, make sure the old address won’t receive any emails you still need.
To remove a single email, delete it from its details page. The address will remain active and can still receive email. Destroying the entire inbox ends the address and deletes all its emails—these are different actions.
The home page currently lets you delete individual emails or switch addresses. Closing the browser tab does not destroy the entire inbox.
In your inbox, click “Get a new address” and confirm. This creates a new 3-hour address and destroys the old inbox. Old emails won’t be transferred, and websites that saved the old address won’t update it automatically.
Wait for the final confirmation email at the old address before switching. You’ll need to enter the new address again in any forms you use afterward.
If you don’t extend the address, it and all the emails in its inbox will be deleted when it expires. Keeping your browser open doesn’t change the expiration time, and reading your emails won’t make them expire sooner.
Copies you’ve saved locally and records kept by the sender’s website won’t be deleted when the inbox expires.
This describes the lifespan of a temporary inbox, not a promise to delete every copy on the internet. For information about service logs, account details, and other data handling, see our Privacy Policy; for permitted use and restrictions, see our Terms of Service.
05 / Final checks
If you need to receive notifications days or months from now, the question isn’t just “How do I add a few hours?” First, make sure this address is right for the task.
Review the checklist before signing up →No. The server keeps track of the expiration time. Closing a tab won’t pause the countdown or send a request to destroy the inbox. If you visit again, whether you can access the same inbox depends on whether the address is still active and whether your browser still has the access credentials. Don’t treat closing the page as confirmation that the inbox has been deleted.
New addresses expire after 3 hours by default, and each successful extension adds 3 hours. Reading an email won’t delete it. You can delete individual emails manually; the rest stay in the inbox until the address expires. For definitions of these terms, see our email glossary.
Don’t rely on an expired address to receive more email, and you can’t restore emails that have already been deleted. If you’re still waiting for a message, extend the address before it expires. If it’s already expired, follow the sender’s instructions to change the email address or start the process again. A new address won’t receive messages sent to the old one.
The planner estimates using a new 3-hour address; it doesn’t check your actual inbox. An existing address has already used some of its time and may even be from a previous visit. Use the countdown on the home page, then compare it with your task time plus buffer.
Use an email address you control long-term for important accounts; temporary addresses aren’t recommended. For regular subscriptions or ongoing notifications, consider a long-term forwarding alias, but forwarding still depends on the service being available. Read about the difference between disposable email and aliases before risking future access to your account just to avoid one more login.
For short-term tasks, check the actual expiration time in your inbox. For ongoing notifications, use a separate long-term forwarding alias. Plan here, then make any changes in your inbox.
