Methmail is the private email we’re building. You won’t need a phone number or another email address to sign up. How we’ll keep out bots and spam without a number is below.
There’s no sign-up yet: we’re still building Methmail. We’ll open with a closed beta, by invitation.
Why we won’t ask for your number
- A phone number almost always points to a person. It’s on your contract with the carrier, and in many countries a SIM card is only sold against an ID document [1]. Email with your number attached stops being separate from you.
- SMS is a weak way to protect sign-in. A number can be moved to someone else’s SIM card, and then the SMS codes go to an attacker [2]. NIST classes checks over the phone network as restricted [3]. So we won’t use SMS as a second factor.
- What we won’t keep can’t be demanded later. We won’t have your phone number, so there will be nothing to hand over. What we can be compelled to do is in the inventory.
How we'll fight spam without a phone number
- Invitations. During the closed beta, the only way in will be an invitation: a link or a QR code.
- A puzzle for your browser. Sometimes your browser will solve a small computational puzzle: this is how we stop bots without tracking you.
- A limit for new mailboxes. A new mailbox will have a limit on sending to other providers: how many recipients a day. It will grow with the mailbox’s reputation.
- Mass sign-ups. Creating mailboxes in bulk won’t work: in the closed beta, each account will have only a few invitations, and sign-up will be held back by the computational puzzle your browser solves and by rate limits.
- Several addresses. You’ll be able to have several addresses in one account. Many mailboxes for work will come later, with paid plans on your own domain.
How you'll get back in without a phone
- Recovery phrase, device or passkey. If you forget your password, your recovery phrase, a signed-in device or a passkey with account recovery turned on will get you back in at once, old emails included. If all you have left is a recovery email, you will get your address back after 7 days (after 72 hours if one of your devices has been signed in for more than a week), but old emails will stay locked: we won’t have the keys. If you lose your password and every recovery method, nobody will be able to open the old emails in your mailbox, including us. The other limits are under What Methmail won’t be able to do.
- Recovery email, as a hash only. It will be optional. If you add one, we will store only its hash: to reset your password, you will type the address yourself. We won’t be able to hand over your recovery address; we will only be able to confirm or deny someone else’s guess. When you add a recovery address and when you reset your password, our server will see it, to compute the hash and to send the link. On a reset, that address’s mail provider will see an email from Methmail, but not your Methmail address. A court will be able to order us to record the address at one of those moments (exceptions).
What this email doesn’t promise
- Anonymity. Promising anonymity in email would be dishonest: email can’t be delivered without addresses. Instead of promises, we’ll list what we’ll keep and what we’ll see: that’s the inventory. What actually gives a person away in email is in a separate guide.
- A temporary inbox. This isn’t temporary email: it’s a permanent mailbox, not an address for one sign-up. How temporary email differs from an alias and a permanent mailbox is in this guide.
How to choose email without a phone number today
If you need a mailbox now, ask any provider that promises sign-up without a phone number four questions:
- How will you get me back in if I forget my password?
- What do you keep about me, and where is that written down?
- Who is responsible for the service, and under which countries’ laws can it be made to hand over data?
- Can I leave with my emails?
A longer list of questions is in How to check an email provider’s security yourself.
Questions
Do I need a phone number? No. You won’t need a phone number or another email address to sign up. You’ll be able to add a recovery address if you want. Sometimes your browser will solve a small computational puzzle: this is how we stop bots without tracking you.
Is it free? The Start plan will be free, by invitation. Paid plans will add storage, addresses and custom domains: How much Methmail will cost.
Can I sign up now? Not yet: we’re still building Methmail. We’ll open with a closed beta, by invitation, and how to get in is on How to get in.
How do I get back in without a phone? A recovery phrase, a signed-in device or a passkey with account recovery turned on will get you back in at once, old emails included. With only a recovery email, you will get your address back after 7 days (after 72 hours if one of your devices has been signed in for more than a week), but old emails will stay locked. We will store the recovery address only as a hash; what the server sees when you add it is above.
Can I have several mailboxes? You’ll be able to have several addresses in one account. Creating mailboxes in bulk won’t work; many mailboxes for work will come later, with paid plans on your own domain.
Will it work in my country?
We can’t promise that. Some countries restrict email services that don’t meet local rules on storing and handing over data; it has happened to foreign services before. Methmail is operated by METHMINE LLC, a company registered in Wyoming, USA. We don’t give the names of people. Courts and authorities in the USA, where the company is registered, in the countries where our servers are, and in the countries where our team members live, can compel us: what they’ll be able to demand.
Next
Sources
- GSMA: Access to Mobile and Proof of Identity: A global snapshot of linkages, challenges and opportunities. February 2018. https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/programme/digital-identity/access-mobile-proof-identity-global-snapshot-linkages-challenges-opportunities/
- FBI, IC3: Criminals Increasing SIM Swap Schemes to Steal Millions of Dollars from US Public. February 8, 2022. https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2022/PSA220208
- NIST SP 800-63B, revision 4 (2025): Authentication and Authenticator Management. https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-4/sp800-63b.html