Guerrilla Mail is a free disposable email address service launched in 2006. Visitors are automatically assigned a random email address upon visiting the site.
Features
Guerrilla Mail randomly generates disposable email addresses.[1] Disposable email addresses may be used as a means of spam prevention.[2] They may also be used if the user does not wish to give a real email, for example if they fear a data breach. Emails sent to addresses are kept for one hour before deletion. The site offers some choice of email domain names.[2][3]
History
Guerrilla Mail was founded in 2006 in Chicago.[4]
Privacy-centered services saw an up-tick in public interest after the global surveillance disclosures beginning in 2013, especially concerning attention brought to materials leaked by Edward Snowden. According to The Mercury News in 2014, “[Guerrilla Mail] has done nearly half of its business in the past year”.[4]
As of November 4, 2020, Guerrilla Mail stated on Twitter that their site had been taken down by their hosting provider, OVHCloud, due to a law enforcement request which OVHCloud refused to provide details about. This prompted criticisms over infringement upon freedom of speech.[5]
However, as of August 20, 2023, sending email from Guerrilla Mail had once again been suspended. On an X social media post on the same date, Guerrilla Mail announced “We’re back online! However, the sending of outgoing emails has been suspended until further notice.”[6]
References
- ^ Greenberg, Andy (17 June 2014). “How to Anonymize Everything You Do Online”. Wired. Condé Nast. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ a b “How to Avoid Spam—Using Disposable Contact Information”. Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ “Get a Free One-Hour Email Address with Guerrilla Mail”. Lifehacker. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ a b Somerville, Heather (27 September 2014). “Tech responds to growing calls for Internet anonymity”. The Mercury News. Digital First Media. Archived from the original on 30 April 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ @GuerrillaMail (4 November 2020). “It looks like or hosting provider, @OVHcloud, decided to shut down our services. The reason was that they received a law enforcement request (which they didn’t forward to us, and refuse to share details about)” (Tweet). Retrieved 12 November 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ @GuerrillaMail (20 August 2023). “We’re back online! However, the sending of outgoing emails has been suspended until further notice” (Tweet). Retrieved 26 April 2025 – via X (formerly Twitter).