Disposable E-mail address

Disposable E-mail addressing (DEA) refers to an alternative way of sharing and managing E-mail addressing. DEA aims to set up a new, unique E-mail address for every contact or entity, making a point-to-point connection between the sender and the recipient. Subsequently, if anyone compromises the address or utilizes it in connection with any E-mail abuse, the address-owner can easily cancel (or "dispose" of) it without affecting any other contact. Following the cancellation or replacement of a disposable E-mail address, the (ex-)owner need notify no more than one person/contact of the change.

Uses

Disposable E-mail addressing, in essence, sets up a different, unique DEA for every sender/recipient combination. It operates most usefully in situations where someone may sell or release an E-mail address to spam lists or to other unscrupulous entities. The most common situations of this type involve online registrations for things such as discussion groups, bulletin boards, chat rooms, online shopping, and file hosting services. In a time when E-mail spam has become an everyday nuisance, and when identity theft threatens, DEAs can serve as a convenient tool for keeping network users safe and sane.

Most likely, but not always, cancellation of a disposable E-mail address takes place because someone starts to use the address in an illegitimate manner. This may occur through the accidental release of an E-mail to a spam list, or because the original recipient unscrupulously and deliberately obtained it deceptively. Alternatively, the user may simply decide not to receive further correspondence from that company. Whatever the cause, DEA allows the address owner to take unilateral action by simply cancelling the address in question. Later, the owner can determine whether to update the recipient or not.

For the sake of convenience, disposable E-mail addresses typically forward to one or more real E-mail mailboxes where the owner receives and reads messages. The contact with whom a DEA is shared never needs to know the real E-mail address of the user. If a database manages the DEA, it can also quickly identify the expected sender of each message by retrieving the associated contact name of each unique DEA. Used properly, DEA can also help identify which recipients handle E-mail addresses in a careless or illegitimate manner. Moreover, it can serve as an effective tool for spotting counterfeit messages, or phishers.