What is a Disposable Email, and Why is it Problematic?
A disposable email is a type of email address that expires after a set duration of time. A person can use the address for the active period (usually 15-60 minutes), after which the email address becomes invalid.
Disposable emailsⓘ lead to hard bounces
The primary issue with disposable emailsⓘ is that they eventually expire. Once the address self-destructs, it is invalid, which means all attempted email deliveries will bounce back.
However, they’re more problematic than an outright invalid email due to the initial active period. Visitors can successfully register or sign up for offers with a disposable email domain, as the address is valid during this time.
You then add this email address to your list, believing it’s a valid contact, only to discover later that your email bounced.
This will negatively affect your email sender reputation, as you need to keep your email bounce rateⓘ at 2% or lower. Failure to do this will result in more bounces as email and internet service providers begin to see your email domain as untrustworthy.
How to deal with disposable emailsⓘ
The most effective way to combat disposable emailsⓘ is with ZeroBounce’s real-time email verification. Our 99.6% accurate email verifier performs additional checks, which allows us to spot disposable email domain providers.
> Real-time email verification API docs
You can add real-time email verifiers to your websites or registration forms to detect invalid email addresses. The ZeroBounce email verifier can also identify risky email types, including disposable emailsⓘ, so you can block those from entering your list.
You can also motivate visitors to use their actual email addresses by ensuring that your website is secure and communicating how you protect customer privacy.
To learn how to block them effectively, check out the definitive email marketer’s guide to disposable emails.
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