Anonymous SMTP Service

Question

Does anyone know of a free, anonymous smtp service? I want to give users of my app the ability to occasionally send me an anon email without having to configure a server of enter their email account. I guess I could setup a gmail account for this purpose and embed the credentials in the app but I hope it won't be necessary. In case it sways your answer, this is a thick client (.NET Console) app.

Mark was suggesting that your application should communicate with you by interacting with your web site, e.g. to POST something to your web site ... to don't need to be a browser to generate HTTP traffic. Then if actually really need email, you can send email from your web site's back end. You'd hard-code your web site URL into your client. — ChrisW, Jun 29 '09 at 01:58
Chris, thanks for wording my idea more clearly than I did :) — Mark Rushakoff, Jun 29 '09 at 02:07
Thanks for clarifying - and yes that sounds like a good option too! — James Cadd, Jun 29 '09 at 13:28

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 29 '09 at 00:15

9

I think that what you're asking for is called an open relay.

answered Jun 29 '09 at 00:15

ChrisW

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score 6 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 28 '09 at 23:58

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If there were such a thing, wouldn't it immediately be swamped by spammers?

answered Jun 28 '09 at 23:58

Jacob Mattison

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score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 29 '09 at 00:01

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You might be better off setting up some kind of commenting tool on your website, that sends you an email with the contents of whatever form the user submits. Then if you go that far, it shouldn't be difficult to add a form to your app that automatically makes the full HTTP request (transparent to the user, in the background).

answered Jun 29 '09 at 00:01

Mark Rushakoff

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Thanks - if it were a web site that may be an option, but this is a thick client app. – James Cadd Jun 29 '09 at 01:16

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 29 '09 at 00:16

If you run your own mail server, you can simply configure the app to deliver mail directly to it. Many web hosting companies also provide mail hosting if you don't want to run it on your own hardware. Gmail via Google Apps for your domain might be an option. It's free. But their anti-spam measures might prevent delivery. Better to have a server you can control, I think. Bottom line, though, is you don't need an anonymous SMTP relay server to get the job done.

Anonymous SMTP Service

4 Answers4