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Spamgourmet

spamgourmet.com

Free plan Open source WebLinuxSelf-hosted
Visit spamgourmet.com
Spec score 8.3 #7 of 25 in Disposable Email Services

What it is

Spamgourmet is a free disposable-email service available on the web, with released code for self-hosting. It creates an alias automatically when the first message arrives, then forwards only a chosen number of messages to a protected address before discarding later mail. An address can allow up to 20 messages; the default is three when no number is supplied. Advanced mode provides trusted-sender controls, watchwords, prefixes, reply-address masking, and tools to view or edit addresses. Reply masking routes replies through Spamgourmet and keeps the protected return address hidden. The service filters only messages sent to disposable addresses, not mail sent directly to the protected address. Its privacy policy says messages are forwarded immediately or erased from volatile memory and that the code does not store email. Standard web and mail logs record IP addresses and may be reviewed for support or fraud investigations. The service is described as volunteer-run and non-commercial, with optional donations. Its Free plan costs nothing.

Spec sheet

What it does
Spamgourmet creates disposable email addresses automatically, forwards an address's allowed messages to a protected mailbox, and consumes later messages.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Purpose
Spamgourmet creates disposable email addresses that forward a limited number of messages to a protected address, then discard later messages.Read 9 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Privacy
The privacy policy says messages are forwarded immediately or erased from volatile memory and that its code does not store email.Read 9 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Support
The FAQ invites users to contact the team with questions or bug reports and says support is provided when needed.Read 9 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
License
SourceForge identifies the downloadable project as open source under the Artistic License.Read 15 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Founded
The FAQ says the service has operated since late 2000.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Advanced controls
Advanced mode supports trusted senders, watchwords, prefixes, reply address masking, and viewing or editing addresses.Read 9 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Anti-bot signup
New-user registration uses a word-in-an-image challenge to deter scripted account creation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Attachment policy
Spamgourmet says it never sends email attachments and warns that unexpected attachments claiming to be from it may be malware.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Automatic aliases
An address is created automatically when it receives its first message, so users do not need to create each alias in advance.Read 9 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Automatic creation
Users invent an address word and the service creates the address when it first receives mail for it.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Commercial status
The FAQ describes Spamgourmet as a non-commercial service and says donations are optional.Read 9 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Company structure
The team page says Spamgourmet is created and run by volunteers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Custom domains
A user can route a personal domain to Spamgourmet by pointing its MX record at gourmet.spamgourmet.com and asking the service to configure the domain.Read 15 Oct 2026 · gourmet7.spamgourmet.com
Delivery limitation
The FAQ warns that some email providers may reject forwarded messages because of sender DMARC policies, and suggests reply address masking as a possible workaround.Read 9 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Deprecated tool
AddressScrambler is deprecated and the FAQ recommends SgMailto instead.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Developer documentation
The repository README points developers to its docs directory, especially dev-notes.md, and to a cloning script for installation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Direct-address limitation
Spamgourmet does not affect spam sent directly to a user's real email address; the sender must use a Spamgourmet address.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
DMARC problem
The FAQ reports that sender DMARC policies increasingly cause forwarded messages to be rejected and suggests reply masking as a workaround.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Documentation depth
The FAQ documents address syntax, advanced sender controls, forwarding behavior, troubleshooting, and account rules in detail.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Domain history
ScamAdviser lists the domain registration date as 2000-06-07 and identifies the server country as the United States.Read 15 Oct 2026 · scamadviser.com
Exclusive senders
An address can lock onto its first sender or sender domain and consume mail from other senders.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Forwarding
Forwarded mail is sent to the protected address supplied during account setup, which must be confirmed.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Historical attack outage
The changelog records a January 2008 denial-of-service incident followed by ISP routing problems that temporarily made the service inaccessible to some subscribers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Historical outage
The changelog records a January 20, 2009 slowdown and queue backup after the hosting provider dropped the reverse lookup address, later restored.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Historical release
Spamgourmet announced version 2.0.3 and an SgMailto release on October 8, 2007, after roughly five years without a formal code release.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Hosting
The privacy policy says the service computers are in California and are administered primarily from Texas.Read 9 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Independent service description
SourceForge describes Spamgourmet as a forwarding-address system with a web management interface, disposable addresses, sender whitelisting, and CAPTCHA.Read 15 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Limit: address acceptance
Wikipedia reports that some forums and services reject Spamgourmet addresses, especially where disposable addresses are used to limit abuse.Read 15 Oct 2026 · de.wikipedia.org
Limit: maintenance pace
A SourceForge reviewer said the project had entered a fix-only state with few new features and little forum activity.Read 15 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Limit: reply anonymity
A SourceForge reviewer complained that replies remain anonymous and there is no user control to reveal the sender identity.Read 15 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Logging
The privacy policy says standard web and mail logs record IP addresses and may be reviewed for support or fraud investigations.Read 9 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Maker location
The team page identifies founder and lead developer Josiah (Josh) Q. Hamilton as being in Houston, Texas.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Message limit
Users can specify up to 20 messages for an address, and the default is three if no number is specified.Read 9 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Message limits
An address can be configured for up to 20 forwarded messages; the default is 3 when no count is supplied.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
No mail-server replacement
The FAQ says Spamgourmet cannot be used as a user's incoming or outgoing mail server.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Praise: convenience
A SourceForge reviewer praised creating disposable addresses on the fly and silently deleting mail after the allowance.Read 15 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Praise: effectiveness
A SourceForge reviewer said 19 years of use kept almost 500,000 unwanted emails out of the inbox.Read 15 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Praise: zero-spam result
Another SourceForge reviewer described the service as producing essentially zero spam in the user's inbox.Read 15 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Prefix protection
A prefix can be required in disposable addresses before the service will create them.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Project team
The maker says Spamgourmet was created and is run by volunteers.Read 9 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Rating on SourceForge
5.0 out of 5 from 4 reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Reply masking
Reply-address masking rewrites forwarded mail so replies return through Spamgourmet instead of exposing the real address.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Scope limitation
Spamgourmet only filters messages sent to its disposable addresses; it does not affect messages sent directly to the protected email address.Read 9 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Security storage
The FAQ says passwords are stored with one-way encryption so operators cannot read them.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Self-hosting
The maker offers released code for people who want to host a similar service or add Spamgourmet functionality to an existing mail service.Read 9 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Self-hosting prerequisites
The repository README lists Linux, sendmail, Apache, MySQL, and Perl as prerequisites for a standard installation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Spam disposal
Messages beyond an address's allowance are deleted and are never written to disk, so they cannot be recovered.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Support model
The service is volunteer-run and directs users to its FAQ, discussion/support forum, and email contact.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Trust assessment
ScamAdviser labels spamgourmet.com very likely safe, citing a valid SSL certificate, long domain history, high traffic ranking, and positive user reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · scamadviser.com
Trusted senders
Advanced mode lets users whitelist email addresses or domains so they can send indefinitely without reducing an address count.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Watchwords
Advanced mode supports regular-expression watchwords that must appear in a new address word.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Website address generator
The downloads page offers SgMailto JavaScript for generating near-random addresses on websites and supporting masked replies.Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com

Plans and prices

Free Free Free service; up to 20 messages per address by default, with options to extend Read 9 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com
Spamgourmet free service Free Disposable addresses auto-created · default 3 messages per address · maximum 20 messages at once · trusted or exclusive senders can extend delivery Read 15 Oct 2026 · spamgourmet.com

Every Spamgourmet plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Aliases are created automatically on first message
  • Up to 20 messages can be allowed
  • Reply masking hides the protected address
  • Released code supports self-hosting
  • Free service with optional donations

Limits

  • Forwarding can be rejected by some DMARC policies
  • Direct mail to the protected address is unaffected
  • IP addresses appear in standard logs

Who it suits

Spamgourmet suits people who want disposable addresses for limited forwarding and users interested in self-hosting similar functionality. It also offers controls for replies, trusted senders, and message limits.

Verdict

Spamgourmet provides disposable aliases with configurable limits and reply masking at no cost. Users should note its forwarding scope, provider-related delivery limits, and logged IP addresses.

Where Specifiction places it

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