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Core Concepts

MinuteMail is built around a small set of explicit concepts designed to enforce privacy by default while remaining predictable for developers.

Mailbox

Section titled “Mailbox”

A mailbox represents a temporary email address managed by MinuteMail.

Mailboxes are ephemeral by default.

Each mailbox:

  • Has a unique email address
  • Has a configurable lifetime between 1 and 60 minutes (15 minutes by default)
  • Receives messages only while active

A mailbox can also be created with no expiration (“permanent”). A permanent mailbox keeps its address and messages until you delete it — there is no automatic cleanup. Archiving (see below) still works the same way.

When a mailbox expires:

  • The mailbox is deactivated
  • All messages and attachments are permanently deleted

Messages

Section titled “Messages”

A message is an email received by an active mailbox.

Each message includes:

  • Sender and recipient metadata
  • Headers and subject
  • Text and/or HTML body
  • Optional attachments

Messages follow the mailbox’s lifecycle:

  • They exist only while the mailbox is active
  • They are automatically deleted when the mailbox expires or is deleted
  • Expired messages are never recoverable

Messages are accessible via:

  • The web interface
  • The API (and SDKs, where available)

Archiving and Reactivation

Section titled “Archiving and Reactivation”

Archiving is an address reservation mechanism, not a mailbox or message retention feature.

When a mailbox is archived:

  • The email address is reserved
  • The mailbox is allowed to expire normally
  • All messages are deleted

When an archived address is reactivated:

  • The same email address becomes active again
  • A new empty mailbox is created
  • New messages can be received

Example use case

Section titled “Example use case”

A user registers on a third-party platform using a temporary email address.

Later, for password recovery:

  • The user reactivates the archived address
  • The same email address receives the recovery email
  • No previous messages exist

This enables controlled reuse without storing historical data.

Custom Domains

Section titled “Custom Domains”

MinuteMail allows users to use their own domain for temporary mailboxes.

With custom domains:

  • Mailboxes remain temporary and ephemeral
  • The email address belongs to the user’s domain
  • Messages follow the same lifecycle rules (no retention)

To enable a custom domain, the user must:

  1. Configure an MX record pointing to MinuteMail
  2. Add a TXT record containing a verification key

The TXT record is used to:

  • Prove domain ownership
  • Prevent unauthorized domain usage

Once verified, the domain can be used to create temporary mailboxes under that domain.

Expiration and Lifecycle

Section titled “Expiration and Lifecycle”

Mailbox lifecycle is deterministic and enforced:

  • Temporary mailboxes are created with a TTL of 1–60 minutes (15 minutes by default)
  • Messages exist only during the active window
  • On expiration:
    • Mailbox is deactivated
    • Messages are permanently deleted
  • Permanent mailboxes (no expiration) keep their messages until explicitly deleted
  • Archived addresses may be reactivated as new empty mailboxes

Temporary mailboxes never provide long-term message storage.

Key Design Principles

Section titled “Key Design Principles”

  • Ephemeral by default
    Mailboxes and messages are short-lived unless you explicitly choose a permanent mailbox.

  • No message recovery
    Deletion is final.

  • Address identity is optional and explicit
    Archiving preserves addresses, not data.

  • Domain ownership is enforced
    Custom domains require DNS-based verification.

  • Consistent behavior everywhere
    The same rules apply across UI, API, and SDKs.