TempPinStep 1: Choose the right level of detail
One alias per purpose
For example: shopping, newsletters, and communities. Fewer aliases are easier to manage, but if one address is exposed, you cannot pinpoint the site responsible.
One alias per source
For example: shop-acme and forum-orbit. Leaks and deactivation are easier to trace, but you will need to maintain more mappings in your password manager.
Step 2: Use names that reveal no personal information
Prefixes must start with a letter and be 3–30 characters long. Use only letters, numbers, periods, underscores, and hyphens. Never include your name, birthday, phone number, address, or confidential company information. A hint about the purpose is enough.
Purchases and orders
shop-books
is for stores that may still send shipping, refund, or invoice notifications.
Content subscriptions
read-weekly
is for newsletters and media; if unsubscribing does not work, you can simply pause the entry.
Community projects
group-orbit
is for forums, open-source collaboration, or notifications about long-running activities.
Step 3: Create a mapping table
Record each alias in the corresponding account entry in your password manager instead of creating a separate public spreadsheet. At minimum, keep the website, alias, reason for creation, whether it is used for password recovery, and any prerequisites for migration.
| Source | Suggested alias | Contact pattern | Checks before disabling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online store | shop-name | May still be needed after an order ends for returns or exchanges | Orders, invoices, and warranties are all complete |
| Newsletter | read-topic | Ongoing but not critical | No account recovery needed, or change the email first |
| Community | group-name | Long-term and may be used for password recovery | Update the login email and recovery methods |
| Short-term download | Use a temporary email first | One-time use | The file has been saved securely |
Step 4: Set deactivation rules
- When a source starts sending unrelated marketing emails, unsubscribe first, then pause the alias if needed.
- If a data breach occurs or phishing messages become common, pause the alias and update the email address on linked accounts.
- Before deleting an alias, search your password manager and confirm that no important account still uses it for password recovery.
- Review aliases that have not been used for a long time every quarter to prevent your entry points from growing without limit.
Pausing, deleting, and migrating: what is the difference?
Pausing is best during a review period and stops future forwarding; deleting permanently removes the entry once you have confirmed that no account depends on it; migrating means updating the email on the target website and verifying the new address before handling the old alias. Never delete first and change it later.
Start creating
Once you have your prefix and mapping records ready, open the forwarding console. The first time, you only need to verify your usual email address. If you only need to receive a verification code once, return to the temporary email tool. There is no need to create a long-term entry for a short-term task.