Short-lived email
Temporary inboxes are active for one hour by default, and you can extend their lifetime. When an inbox expires, it and its messages are deleted. We do not guarantee long-term recovery.
Privacy Policy
This policy applies to the temporary inboxes, forwarding aliases, and related login features at hourinbox.com. We process data as needed to provide these features; “temporary” does not mean completely anonymous or free of technical records.
Effective and updated: October 16, 2026 · Contact:support@hourinbox.com
Ongoing contact
Aliases require verification of a real email address. Forwarded messages pass through our systems, and inbox records are kept for the most recent 30 days.
You’re in control
You can delete messages, disable or delete aliases, and sign out. For additional requests involving account data, contact us at the support email address.
What data we process
Temporary inbox features process generated addresses, access credentials, expiration times, and the content and metadata of messages sent to those addresses. Messages may include sender and recipient addresses, subject lines, timestamps, message bodies, and other information supplied by the sender. Do not use this service to receive sensitive information.
Forwarding features also process your verified real email address, aliases and their active or inactive status, forwarding results, and related message records. If you enable an authenticator, we store the security configuration needed to verify one-time codes. We will never ask for your real email account password.
To operate the service and prevent abuse, our systems and infrastructure may process technical records such as network addresses, request times, errors, and delivery events. If you email our support address, we also process the contact details and description of your issue that you choose to provide.
Why we need this data
We need to process messages to receive and display their contents, forward them, and troubleshoot delivery. Your email address is used to send verification codes, confirm control of the address, and determine where to forward messages. Browser credentials let you continue accessing your inbox or dashboard.
We also use necessary technical information to limit bulk abuse, investigate outages, maintain security, and meet applicable legal obligations. Where required by law, our legal basis may include providing the service, legitimate security interests, legal obligations, or your consent. Processing that is not necessary should not be treated as a condition for receiving email.
Retention periods and deletion limits
| Data | How long we keep it | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary inboxes and messages | One hour by default; if extended, deleted at the new expiration time | Save anything you need in time, or delete it yourself |
| Forwarded message records | Available in your account for the most recent 30 days | View and delete records in the dashboard |
| Aliases and destination email address | Used to provide ongoing forwarding until you disable or delete the alias, or the related service ends | Pause or delete the alias; contact support with account-related requests |
| Browser credentials | Kept in the browser you use until you sign out, clear them, or they expire | Sign out or clear site storage |
| Security and support records | Processed as needed for troubleshooting, security, and legal obligations; we do not promise a fixed number of hours before deletion | You can ask about applicable retention periods |
Deleting records from our service does not recall messages already forwarded or remove separate copies held by the sender, destination mailbox, or backup systems. Some information may be subject to different limits when retention is necessary for security investigations or legal obligations. We do not promise to immediately erase every copy from all systems.
Browser storage and third-party services
This site uses local browser storage for necessary data such as session tokens and temporary inbox credentials. Clearing this data may prevent you from accessing your original temporary inbox. Signing out of a long-term account does not delete a separate temporary inbox.
Sending and forwarding email requires network, hosting, and email infrastructure providers. Service providers process data only as needed to deliver their services. Cross-border processing may depend on the infrastructure and email routing involved and must meet applicable data protection requirements.
Real emails may contain remote images and links to third-party sites. Security processing of message content cannot eliminate all external tracking risks. When you load external content, the other party may receive request information. Third-party websites handle data under their own policies.
Your choices and privacy requests
You can use temporary inboxes without long-term forwarding, and manage aliases and records in the dashboard. In a privacy request, specify what data you want to access, correct, delete, or restrict, and the email address involved. Do not send verification codes, session tokens, or authenticator keys.
Please contact support@hourinbox.com. We may ask you to reasonably verify that you control the mailbox so we don’t disclose its information to someone else. If the data has already been deleted under our retention limits, we may not be able to provide a copy. Using the service does not waive any rights to complain, object, or exercise other rights granted by applicable law.
Security, children, and policy updates
We reduce risks with access credentials, verification steps, and secure email processing, but no online service can guarantee absolute security. Protect your browser, sign out on shared devices, don’t rely on the email address as your only safeguard, and don’t use this service for highly sensitive communications.
The service is not designed for children below the legal age for using it in their location. If you believe there is an issue involving a child’s data or safety, contact support. We will update the date on this page when this policy changes materially and provide appropriate notice of significant changes. For service limitations, see our Terms of Service.