What is a receive-only email address?
A receive-only email address gets mail but cannot send it. Here is what that means, why it matters, and when to use one.
What does receive-only actually mean?
A receive-only email address can accept incoming mail but has no way to send mail out. It has an inbox, not an outbox. Verification codes, receipts, and confirmation links land in it exactly like a normal address, but there is no compose button and no SMTP path leaving the domain.
regmail.me builds every mailbox this way. You sign in with Google, claim a name on a shared domain, and the address starts receiving mail in seconds. Nothing you do with it can send a single message anywhere.
Why remove sending at all?
A normal mailbox that can send mail is also a mailbox that can be used to send spam, phish, or abuse someone else. That risk is why free mailboxes get rate-limited, flagged, or banned, and why a shared domain with outbound mail turns into a blacklist target within days.
Cut sending out and that risk disappears by construction. There is no outbound path to abuse, so the domain stays clean and the address keeps working for its one job: catching mail you need to read.
How is this different from a normal email account?
| Normal inbox (Gmail, Outlook) | Receive-only (regmail.me) | |
|---|---|---|
| Can receive mail | Yes | Yes |
| Can send mail | Yes | No |
| Expires on a timer | No | No, permanent |
| Setup needed | Account + verification | Google sign-in, no DNS |
| Good for | Everyday communication | Signups, OTP, receipts |
What can you actually do with one?
- Sign up for a service and receive the confirmation link
- Receive a one-time password (OTP) for two-factor login
- Collect purchase receipts and shipping notifications
- Give an address to a script or automated test that needs a real inbox
- Keep an address permanently, since it does not expire like a timed mailbox
A receive-only address is not the same as a temporary or disposable address. Disposable mail is built to expire; regmail.me mailboxes are built to stay. See the linked comparison for the difference.
How do you get one?
- Sign in with a Google account
- Pick a mailbox name and a domain
- Start receiving mail immediately, no DNS or mail server setup required
What are the limits on the free tier?
The free tier gives one mailbox per account with a quota of 5 received emails per mailbox per day. Going past that, or adding a second mailbox, draws on Energy, the site's prepaid unit, where 1 Energy equals 1,000 VND. Paid overflow is off by default; a mailbox owner has to switch it on before it charges anything.
Frequently asked questions
Can a receive-only address send email at all?
No. There is no outbound path on a receive-only mailbox, not even a hidden or advanced one. It can only accept mail sent to it.
Does a receive-only address expire?
No, a regmail.me address is permanent. It stays open until you decide otherwise, unlike a temporary mailbox that self-destructs after a fixed window.
Is a receive-only address safe to use for account recovery?
Yes, because it does not expire. An address that vanishes after 10 minutes cannot receive a password reset link six months later; a permanent one can.
Will services accept a receive-only address at signup?
A service that only checks whether an address can receive a confirmation link works fine, since that is exactly what happens. A service that requires you to reply from that address will not work, since replying is sending.
Get your own receive-only mailbox
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