TFN#54: 🪜Instant use-and-throw email ID using 10minutemail

Reader, have you felt the uneasiness when you’re shopping and the checkout counter guy asks for your contact number? For some elusive membership benefits?

Now, my uneasiness turns into a permanent frown when I’m in a checkout queue. Because I know my contact number is going to change 100s of hands and harass me through tele-spamming (marketing is different, it is not spam). So, the frown signals my lack of interest and mostly the checkout counter guy doesn’t ask me for my contact number.

But what about email IDs?

There are times when you’re pressured into giving your email ID before proceeding to the next webpage.

That’s why 10minutemail​
If you remember, I mentioned it in my letter How strong is your password? Check and generate memorable passwords last week.

What’s this 10minutemail?

A free throwaway email id for 10 minutes.
Nothing illegal.
Completely anonymous.
No sign up required.
The email expires after 10 minutes.

I have been using it for more than 5 years now. Recently, they have loaded the webpage with many ads, but it is bearable. We just need the email id, nothing else.

Intro

Before you start using it, a little intro to the interface.

Look at the five parts of the screen:

Here is what each element does:
​Element no.-1: Click to copy the weird email address
​Element no.-2: This is your temporary email address
​Element no.-3: This is real inbox. Any confirmation emails sent are stored in it
​Element no.-4: This is the countdown before your temporary email will be permanently deleted
​Element no.-5: If you want to keep the email for longer time, click it. It will reset the counter to 10 minutes

A word of caution

It is a good practice not to use this site for sensitive matters.
It should be only used for websites that require one-time confirmation. I mean imagine if you create an account using this disposable email, it will get created. But you can’t use it in the future in case you need to reset your account or anything similar action.

So, that’s how I try to protect myself from spams. Of course, I still receive many but what would have happened if I had been distributing my emails freely!
How do you protect yourself from spam? Hit Reply and tell me.

Reads of the week:

I thoroughly enjoyed this table originally put together by Thomas G. Mortenson, senior scholar at the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education in Washington, D.C. and independent higher education policy analyst. The original 100+ item list was published in 2011.

Mark J. Perry of AEI, updated this list in 2021.

Click on the article title to see the full table

What is striking about this table is the fact that no one talks about any of these things. Not until recently. Because the culture has been busy beating one sex against another.

But then, as someone has rightly said “there’s a lot of money in hating men”, it all starts making sense. (In fact, I could have advanced my career at greater pace if I had shut the moral and rational part of my mind and helped vilify men)

Anyways, let’s talk business.

Sahil Lavingia, the co-founder and CEO of Gumroad, has a different way of doing business. In fact, that is how I would like to conduct my business.

Apart from paying the freelancers equity and dividends, their way of working is very different and transparent from most of the companies.

Take example for this Sales Person job posted for his another company Flexile.

You know what you’ll be getting paid if you’re hired. Doesn’t matter whether you live in Pakistan or the US. No hidden ifs and buts.

I just realized, the Reads of the week section seems longer than the main letter today. What a day to write this letter!