# DropInbox — Instant Disposable Email on Gmail, Outlook & iCloud (`dev00/dropinbox-disposable-emails-api`) Actor

Generate disposable email aliases on real providers (Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail, iCloud). Activate and receive real emails instantly. No signup, no tokens, no cookies.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/dev00/dropinbox-disposable-emails-api.md
- **Developed by:** [dev00](https://apify.com/dev00) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Lead generation, Other
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 111 total users, 8 monthly users, 90.6% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 dropinbox api queries

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## DropInbox — Instant Disposable Email on Gmail, Outlook & iCloud

Generate **real disposable email aliases** on Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail, and iCloud — and receive actual emails in seconds. No signup, no tokens, no cookies. **Now with single-request generation and auto-activation!**

***

### ✨ Key Features

- ⚡ **Single-Request Generation & Activation** — Generate an alias and activate its inbox in one single request. No separate activation required!
- 📧 **Real Provider Aliases** — Generate on Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail, iCloud (not blocked throwaway domains)
- 📬 **Full Email Body Retrieval** — Returns complete email content: `body`, `body_text`, and rendered `body_html` (not just headers)
- 🛡️ **Bypass Anti-Spam & Domain Blocklists** — High deliverability rate because domain names are 100% legitimate
- 🔐 **Zero Authentication Overhead** — No cookies, no API tokens, no complex session state to manage
- 🚀 **Sub-second Latency** — Powered by global edge computing infrastructure

***

### 📥 Input Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `endpoint` | String | Yes | `generate-email` | Select action: `generate-email`, `check-emails`, or `email` |
| `provider` | String | No | `gmail` | Provider dropdown: `gmail`, `outlook`, `hotmail`, `icloud`, `temp` |
| `email` | String | Conditional | — | Full email alias (required for `check-emails`) |
| `uuid` | String | Conditional | — | Message UUID (required for `email` single-message retrieval) |

#### Input Example (JSON):

```json
{
  "endpoint": "generate-email",
  "provider": "gmail"
}
```

***

### 📤 Output Format & Response Examples

Output data is pushed to the default Dataset and stored as JSON in the Key-Value store under key `OUTPUT`.

#### 1. Generate & Activate Email Response (`endpoint: "generate-email"`)

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "email": "ecawegivezow10+aybq4rc@gmail.com",
  "provider": "gmail",
  "is_active": true,
  "message": "Gmail inbox generated & activated successfully. Ready to receive incoming emails and OTP codes."
}
```

#### 2. Check Emails Response with Full Body (`endpoint: "check-emails"`)

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "total": 1,
  "emails": [
    {
      "email_address": "ecawegivezow10+aybq4rc@gmail.com",
      "sender": "service@example.com",
      "subject": "Your verification code: 849201",
      "timestamp": "2026-09-11T16:38:36",
      "uuid": "6a7547ba15fe4f7db3a4aa115bac3f87",
      "body": "Your verification code is 849201. Please enter this code to complete verification.",
      "body_text": "Your verification code is 849201. Please enter this code to complete verification.",
      "body_html": "<p>Your verification code is <strong>849201</strong>.</p>"
    }
  ]
}
```

#### 3. Get Single Message Body (`endpoint: "email"`)

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "uuid": "6a7547ba15fe4f7db3a4aa115bac3f87",
  "body": "Your verification code is 849201.",
  "body_text": "Your verification code is 849201.",
  "body_html": "<p>Your verification code is <strong>849201</strong>.</p>"
}
```

***

### 💡 How To Use — Simplified 2-Step Workflow

1. **Generate & Activate (1 Single Call)** → Run with `endpoint: "generate-email"` and `provider: "gmail"` → The inbox is created and automatically activated immediately in that 1 request!
2. **Read** → Run with `endpoint: "check-emails"` and `email: "YOUR_ALIAS"` → Retrieve received messages, OTP codes, and full bodies.

*(Optional: Use `endpoint: "email"` with `uuid: "MESSAGE_UUID"` to retrieve a single message body.)*

***

### 🙋 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

**Q: Do I need a separate activation step after generating?**\
A: No! The `/generate-email` endpoint generates and automatically activates the inbox in 1 single step. Ready to receive emails immediately.

**Q: Why are Gmail / Outlook / iCloud aliases better than regular temp mail?**\
A: Most websites actively block disposable domain extensions (`@tempmail.com`, `@mailinator.com`). Because DropInbox uses real Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail, and iCloud domains, sign-up forms treat them as normal user accounts.

**Q: Does the actor return the full message content or just the subject?**\
A: Full message content! Every email returned in `/check-emails` includes `body`, `body_text`, and `body_html`. You can also fetch specific messages via `/email?uuid=...`.

**Q: How does the actor handle URL-encoded email addresses?**\
A: Email addresses containing `+`, `%2B`, spaces, or double-encoded characters are automatically decoded and normalized before querying.

***

### 🎯 Use Cases

- 🧪 **QA & Automated Testing** — Generate a unique email address per test execution in 1 single call
- 🔐 **OTP & Verification Code Extraction** — Automatically capture OTP codes and confirmation links in Apify datasets
- 🛡️ **Privacy & Account Creation** — Create accounts without exposing personal emails
- 📊 **Lead Gen Form Audits** — Test form delivery across Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail, and iCloud
- 🤖 **End-to-End Scraping Pipelines** — Chain with web scrapers for automated account verification

***

### 🔍 Keywords & Tags

`temp email api`, `disposable email`, `gmail temp email`, `outlook temp email`, `icloud disposable email`, `email generator api`, `temporary email address`, `email verification api`, `otp catcher`, `burner email api`

# Actor input Schema

## `endpoint` (type: `string`):

Select the action: Generate & Activate in 1 single step, Check Received Emails, or Fetch Single Message.

## `provider` (type: `string`):

The email provider for alias generation. Supported: Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail, iCloud, or Temp.

## `email` (type: `string`):

The generated email alias (e.g., 'user+123@gmail.com'). Automatically normalized. Required for /check-emails.

## `uuid` (type: `string`):

The unique message UUID returned in /check-emails. Required for /email endpoint.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "endpoint": "generate-email",
  "provider": "gmail",
  "email": "ecawegivezow10+aybq4rc@gmail.com"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `keyValueStoreResult` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "endpoint": "generate-email",
    "provider": "gmail",
    "email": "ecawegivezow10+aybq4rc@gmail.com"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("dev00/dropinbox-disposable-emails-api").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "endpoint": "generate-email",
    "provider": "gmail",
    "email": "ecawegivezow10+aybq4rc@gmail.com",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("dev00/dropinbox-disposable-emails-api").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "endpoint": "generate-email",
  "provider": "gmail",
  "email": "ecawegivezow10+aybq4rc@gmail.com"
}' |
apify call dev00/dropinbox-disposable-emails-api --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,dev00/dropinbox-disposable-emails-api"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/XkGGOa6sFzlfDvYjH/builds/4t8hwhzy4rOil3yd4/openapi.json