Help Centre

Everything you need to know about using MailFlusher.

Getting Started

How do I create an account?

Visit the registration page and choose a username. This username becomes your personal subdomain — for example, if you choose "johndoe", your aliases will be anything@johndoe.mailflusher.com.

You'll also need to provide your real email address (where forwarded emails will be sent) and a password. After registering, verify your email address by clicking the link in the verification email.

You can also sign up with Google for faster registration.

How do I create my first alias?

There are two ways to create aliases:

1. On-the-fly (with catch-all enabled): Simply make up any email address using your subdomain and use it anywhere. For example, give out shopping@johndoe.mailflusher.com when signing up to an online store. The alias is created automatically when it receives its first email.

2. From the dashboard: Log in, go to Aliases, and click "Create Alias". You can choose a random format (random characters, random words, UUID) or enter a custom local part.

What is the difference between alias types?
  • Standard Alias: Created using your username subdomain (e.g., hello@johndoe.mailflusher.com). These can be created on-the-fly when catch-all is enabled.
  • Random Character Alias: A randomly generated string like x481n904{{ config('anonkaktus.domain') }}. Cannot be linked back to your username.
  • Random Word Alias: Two random words like circus.waltz449{{ config('anonkaktus.domain') }}. Easier to remember than random characters.
  • UUID Alias: A universally unique identifier for maximum anonymity. Cannot be linked to your account.

Aliases

How do I reply to a forwarded email?

When you receive a forwarded email, the From header contains an encoded reply address like:

alias+sender=example.com@johndoe.mailflusher.com

Simply click "Reply" in your email client — it will automatically use this encoded address. The reply is routed through MailFlusher so the recipient only sees your alias, never your real email.

You can verify the reply was sent by checking the reply count on your alias in the dashboard. Note: Reply/send is available on Standard and Pro plans.

How do I send email from an alias?

To send an email from an alias to hello@example.com using the alias myalias@johndoe.mailflusher.com, compose an email to:

myalias+hello=example.com@johndoe.mailflusher.com

Replace the @ in the destination address with =. The email will appear to come from your alias. You must send from a verified recipient address on your account.

What happens when I deactivate an alias?

When an alias is deactivated, all emails sent to it are silently discarded. The sender will not receive any error or bounce message — the emails simply disappear. You can reactivate the alias at any time to resume receiving emails.

What happens when I delete an alias?

When an alias is deleted, emails sent to it will be rejected with an error message: "550 5.1.1 Address does not exist". The sender will be notified that the address doesn't exist.

Deleted aliases can be restored from the Aliases page by filtering for "Deleted only".

What is catch-all?

With catch-all enabled, any email sent to your username domain will be forwarded to you — even if the alias doesn't exist yet. The alias is automatically created on its first email. For example, if your username is "johndoe", emails to anything@johndoe.mailflusher.com will be received.

Without catch-all, only pre-existing aliases will receive email. Catch-all is available on Standard and Pro plans.

Recipients

What is a recipient?

Recipients are your real email addresses where forwarded mail is delivered. Your default recipient is the email address you registered with. Depending on your plan, you can add additional recipients and assign different ones to different aliases.

How do I add GPG/OpenPGP encryption?

Go to Recipients, click on a recipient to edit it, and add your public GPG/OpenPGP key. Once added, all emails forwarded to that recipient will be encrypted before delivery — including attachments.

You can also enable protected headers to encrypt the email subject line. This provides maximum privacy as even we cannot read the content of your forwarded emails.

Custom Domains

How do I add a custom domain?

Custom domains are available on the Pro plan. To add one:

  1. Go to Domains and click "Add Domain"
  2. Enter your domain name (e.g., example.com)
  3. Add a TXT record to your DNS to verify ownership
  4. Add an MX record pointing to mail.mailflusher.com
  5. Optionally add SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to enable sending from your domain

Allow time for DNS propagation. You can use a subdomain (e.g., mail.example.com) if you're already using the apex domain for email elsewhere.

Can I use a domain I'm already using for email?

If your domain is already used for email (e.g., with Gmail, ProtonMail, or another provider), you cannot also use the same domain with MailFlusher — email can only be handled by one mail server at a time.

Instead, use a subdomain like mail.example.com. This won't interfere with your existing email setup, and you'll be able to create aliases like anything@mail.example.com.

Account & Security

What is bandwidth and how is it calculated?

Bandwidth is the total size of emails processed through your account each month. It is incremented each time an email is forwarded or a reply/send is made. Blocked emails (deactivated or deleted aliases) do not count towards bandwidth.

Bandwidth resets at the start of each month. Limits by plan: Free (10 MB), Standard (200 MB), Pro (unlimited). You'll receive a notification when you approach your limit.

What happens when I delete my account?

When you delete your account:

  • All recipients are permanently deleted
  • All aliases on custom domains are permanently deleted
  • Aliases on shared domains are anonymized and soft-deleted to prevent reuse
  • All custom domains, rules, and API keys are deleted
  • Your username is encrypted and stored to prevent re-registration
  • All other account data is permanently removed

This action cannot be undone. You can delete your account from Settings > Delete Account.

Do you store my emails?

No. Emails are processed in memory and forwarded immediately to your recipient address. We do not store the content of any emails.

The only exception is if you enable "Store Failed Deliveries" in Settings — in that case, failed emails may be temporarily stored so you can retry delivery. This feature is available on Standard and Pro plans.

Subscriptions & Billing

How do I upgrade my plan?

Go to Settings > Subscription and click "Upgrade" on the plan you'd like. You'll be redirected to Stripe's secure checkout to enter your payment details. Your new plan activates immediately after payment.

What happens if I cancel my subscription?

When you cancel, your subscription remains active until the end of the current billing period. After that, your account reverts to the Free plan. You can resume your subscription before the billing period ends to keep your current plan.

After downgrading to Free, features beyond the Free plan limits (extra aliases, recipients, rules, etc.) will become inaccessible but are not deleted.

What payment methods do you accept?

We use Stripe for payment processing. Stripe accepts all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), as well as regional payment methods depending on your country. Your payment details are handled entirely by Stripe — we never see or store your card information.

Terminology

Alias
An email address that forwards to your real email. You give out aliases instead of your real address.
Recipient
Your real email address where forwarded mail is delivered (e.g., your Gmail, Outlook, or ProtonMail address).
Catch-all
A setting that automatically accepts and forwards emails sent to any address on your domain, even if no alias exists yet.
Bandwidth
The total size of emails processed through your account, measured in megabytes per month.
GPG/OpenPGP Key
An encryption standard used to encrypt forwarded emails so only you can read them.
Fingerprint
A shorter representation of your GPG public key, used to verify the correct key is being used for encryption.

Still need help?

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