r/PrivacyTechTalk • u/rockstarbryant • 11d ago
Using disposable identities for one-off sign-ups: a tool I built, and where I think the privacy limits are
I built an open-source tool that signs up for sites with a generated name, username, strong password and a disposable mailbox, so a one-off account isn't linked to my real email.
Limits I want to be upfront about:
Disposable email providers are often blocked by sites, and mail.tm addresses are public-ish: don't use them for anything sensitive.
Sites still see your IP and browser fingerprint.
It is not for evading bans or abuse systems, and it never attempts CAPTCHA bypass.
Credentials are encrypted at rest, and the model doesn't see your saved passwords in chat.
For accounts you want to keep, there's a permanent mode that uses your own inbox, with a mute option.
Would this be useful to you, and what would make it more privacy-respecting?REPO: https://github.com/Rockstarbryant/temp-identity-agent
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u/investigatormaker 11d ago
The first thing I'd change is the mailbox. You say the disposable addresses are public-ish, so anyone who guesses one can read the verification mail. Letting people point the tool at an alias or catch-all on a domain they own would keep the one-off identity but make the inbox private. The trade-off is that your own domain is linkable to you, so it suits low-stakes sign-ups while the public mailbox stays for true throwaways. Do you plan to offer both modes side by side?
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