A disposable inbox built for Firefox

Install from Firefox Add-ons

1. Open the MailBots listing on Firefox Add-ons and select Add to Firefox.
2. Review the permissions Firefox shows, then confirm.
3. Accept the privacy notice on the welcome page that opens. The add-on does nothing until you do.
4. Pin MailBots to the toolbar from the Extensions menu, so the inbox is one click away.

On Firefox for Android, open the same listing in Firefox, install it, then open MailBots from the Firefox menu under Extensions.

Use it in a signup flow

1. Open MailBots and copy the address it shows.
2. Paste it into the email field of the signup, login or password-reset form you are testing.
3. Wait for the message in the popup or the sidebar. The detected code is highlighted with a Copy button.
4. Paste the code and finish the flow. Select New address when you want a clean inbox for the next run.

How Firefox checks for new mail

Chrome and Edge can wake an extension with Web Push. Web Push is not available to Firefox add-ons, so the Firefox build checks for mail itself.

• While the popup or sidebar is open, it checks every few seconds, so a code appears soon after the message is delivered.
• While it is closed, it checks once a minute and shows a notification when something new has arrived.

This is why the Firefox add-on asks for the alarms permission, which Chrome and Edge do not need. With the add-on closed, expect a notification up to about a minute after the email is delivered. Open the popup when you are waiting for a code and it shows up sooner.

Keep the inbox in the sidebar

Firefox has no side panel. It has a sidebar, and MailBots registers its inbox as a sidebar panel. Open it from the Firefox sidebar, where MailBots appears alongside bookmarks and history, and keep it next to the form you are testing while you work.

Permissions and data collection

• storage keeps the anonymous device token, your settings and a record of which messages have already triggered a notification.
• notifications tells you when new mail arrives.
• alarms wakes the add-on once a minute to check for mail while it is closed.
• Access to api.mailbots.top is its only network access. There are no content scripts, so it cannot read or change the pages you visit.

Firefox Add-ons also shows a data collection notice. MailBots declares two categories there: personal communications, because it displays the email you receive, and authentication information, because verification codes are exactly that. Both stay on MailBots servers for no more than 24 hours, and Delete my data in the add-on removes them immediately. See the privacy policy for details.

Limits

Active addresses

2 at a time

Address lifetime

24 hours, extendable

New addresses

5 per hour, 20 per day

Largest message

1 MiB

Message retention

24 hours

Firefox version

140+ desktop, 142+ Android

Questions

Is the Firefox add-on different from the Chrome extension?

It is built from the same source. The inbox, code detection and limits are the same. Only the way it checks for mail while closed and the sidebar differ. See Chrome, Edge and Firefox compared.

Why does a notification sometimes take up to a minute?

While closed, the add-on checks once a minute because Firefox cannot wake it with a push message. With the popup or sidebar open, it checks every few seconds.

Can I check how the add-on is built?

Yes. The source is on GitHub, including the build instructions that reproduce the package submitted to Firefox Add-ons.

Does it cost anything?

No. The add-on is free with no account. Teams that need addresses on their own domain can add a catch-all subdomain.