How to use a temporary email on your phone without an app, on iPhone and Android

Here's the most common mistake on a phone. You open Geçici Mail in your browser, copy the address and switch to an app to sign up. Then you go back to the browser and... the page reloads from scratch, or you've closed the tab by accident. The verification code has arrived somewhere, but you have no idea how to get back to that address.

In this guide we'll show you how to use a temporary email on a phone so that never happens. The good news is that you don't need to install anything. Geçici Mail has no mobile app, and it doesn't need one; the site works the same way in your phone's browser. A little bit of setup is all it takes.

Do I need an app for a temporary email?

No. Open gecicimail.com.tr in Safari, Chrome or whichever mobile browser you use, and an address is created automatically. No account, no app store, no installation asking for permissions. The apps that come up when you search the app stores for "temporary email" have nothing to do with us, and we'd suggest paying close attention to the permissions they ask for.

If you want to open the site with a single tap, like an app, adding a shortcut to your home screen is the simplest option.

Adding it to your home screen on iPhone (Safari)

1. Open gecicimail.com.tr in Safari.
2. Tap the Share icon at the bottom of the screen (at the top in some versions). It looks like a square with an arrow pointing up.
3. Scroll down the list and tap Add to Home Screen.
4. Rename the shortcut if you like, then tap Add.

You now have an icon on your home screen. Tap it and the site opens directly. Menu positions can shift a little between iOS versions, but the idea is the same.

Adding it to your home screen on Android (Chrome)

1. Open gecicimail.com.tr in Chrome.
2. Tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner.
3. Find Add to Home screen and tap it.
4. Confirm the name and tap Add. Your phone may place the shortcut automatically or ask you to drag it into place.

Other browsers, such as Samsung Internet, have a similar "Add page to" or "Add to Home screen" option. The exact wording depends on the phone maker.

A step-by-step example on your phone

Say you're signing up to a food delivery app to get a first-order discount, and it asks you to confirm your email with a code. This is the order we recommend:

1. Open Geçici Mail first. Tap the shortcut on your home screen and let the address appear.
2. Save your recovery key. Below the address box, next to the green key icon, there's an 8-character code in the format XXXX-XXXX. Tap it to copy it and paste it into your notes app. It takes five seconds and solves every problem described below.
3. Copy the address. Tap the COPY button next to the address box, or tap the address itself.
4. Switch to the app and paste. Long-press the email field and choose "Paste". Don't type it by hand; it's very easy to get one letter wrong in a random address.
5. Go back to the browser. Use the app switcher (swipe up from the bottom of the screen or tap the square button) to return to your browser. You left the tab open, remember.
6. Copy the code and switch back to the app. The inbox refreshes itself every 5 seconds; if you don't want to wait, tap REFRESH.

Why does the page reset when I switch apps?

To save memory, phones may pause background tabs after a while or unload them completely. This is especially common on phones with lots of apps open and little free memory. You return to the browser and the page loads from the beginning. That's how the browser and operating system behave; it isn't a bug in the site.

If it happens, don't panic. If you saved your recovery key, open Recover Email in the top menu, enter the key and you're back at the same address. Your incoming messages will be there too, since emails are kept for 24 hours. The key even lets you return to the address long after it has expired (for up to roughly a year). Our recovery key guide covers the details.

A few habits that lower the risk:

• Don't close the Geçici Mail tab during a sign-up; leave it open until you're finished.
• If lots of heavy apps (games, video editors) are running in the background, close them.
• If you opened the site in a private tab, remember that closing it wipes everything. Make sure you've saved the key.

Will I hear the notification sound on my phone?

When a new email arrives, the site plays a sound and shows a notice in the tab title. On a computer that's very handy. On a phone, the sound only plays if the Geçici Mail tab is open and active. While you're in another app, your phone keeps the browser waiting in the background, so you may not hear it. This isn't a push notification system, and nothing appears in your phone's notification centre.

In practice, while you wait for a code, switch back to the browser yourself and look at the inbox. In our own tests, emails usually show up within 3 to 5 seconds, so you won't be waiting long. And of course, if your phone is on silent you won't hear anything.

Unread emails in the inbox have a blinking green dot on the left; once you've read them, the dot turns grey. On a small screen, that makes it easy to see which message you've already opened.

Starting on your computer and finishing on your phone

Sometimes you sign up on your computer but need to enter the code on your phone, or the other way round. For that you need the same address on both devices. Once again, the answer is the recovery key. Send the key from your computer to yourself as a message or just type it (8 characters, XXXX-XXXX), then open Recover Email from the top menu on your phone and enter it. The same address and the same inbox open on your phone.

If you do this often, build a habit. Whenever you create an address for something important, write the key straight into the notes app on your phone. Whatever device you're on, getting back to the address takes less than a minute.

Copy and paste problems on a phone

• The Paste option doesn't appear. Tap inside the field once to bring up the keyboard, then long-press.
• There's a space at the start or end of the address. Some forms treat that as an error. After pasting, move the cursor to the end and check.
• iPhone asks "Allow Paste?" iOS may ask for permission when an app accesses the clipboard. Allow it and carry on.
• The code arrived but I can't select it. Long-press the code and choose "Copy", dragging the selection handles if needed.

If nothing arrives at all, the problem may have nothing to do with your phone; some services simply don't send to temporary addresses. We've listed the possible causes in not receiving emails on a temporary address.

FAQ