--- title: "Stop sharing one Gmail inbox for QA testing · Proxy Mail QA" description: "Shared QA inboxes and plus-addresses cause collisions, missed codes and security headaches. Give every tester private, disposable addresses that expire on their own." url: https://proxymail.qa/solve/shared-test-inbox --- 1. [Home](https://proxymail.qa/) 2. [What we solve](https://proxymail.qa/solve) # Stop sharing one Gmail inbox for QA A shared test mailbox works until the second tester joins. Then codes get used by the wrong person, nobody knows which alias belongs to which test, and the password is in a spreadsheet. Updated 15 October 2026 ## What goes wrong with a shared inbox - **Collisions.** Two testers request codes at the same moment. One of them uses the other’s code, and the bug report that follows wastes an afternoon. - **Aliases nobody can trace.** `qa+client-a-checkout-3@agency.com` made sense to someone in March. Now it’s one of 400 and nobody knows its password. - **Real-mailbox risk.** A shared Gmail is a real account with a real password, recovery options and sometimes access to other things. It’s often shared in a chat message. - **It isn’t what users do.** Plus-addresses are rejected or normalised by some forms, and a long-lived Gmail gets filtered differently from a brand-new user’s address. ## What to do instead Give every test its own address. With Proxy Mail QA: - **Each tester creates their own addresses**, as many as they need, privately. - **Every address is new** and has never received mail before, like a real new user. - **Projects keep clients apart**, with the site you’re testing one click away and an optional prefix so addresses are easy to recognise, such as `cnn-k3f9q2m8x7aa@mailclub.dev`. - **Notes, tags, personas and saved passwords** live on the address, so the context is never in a spreadsheet. - **Addresses expire on their own**, after 1 to 30 days, and their mail is deleted. Old names are never reused, so nobody else can ever receive a reset email for your test accounts. ## Automating this? Your tests and AI agents can use the same addresses. The npm package and the Python helper wait for the code or link in one call, and can check that nothing arrived, or that exactly one email did. [Node.js client](https://proxymail.qa/docs/node) [Python](https://proxymail.qa/docs/python) [Set up your coding agent](https://proxymail.qa/docs/api#agent-setup) ## Try it on your next sign-up test Free plan, no credit card. Create an address and watch the code or link arrive. [Create a free account](https://app.proxymail.qa/?mode=signup&from=site-solve-shared-test-inbox) ## Questions ### Is it private if I don't share a mailbox? Yes. Every address belongs to a signed-in account, random addresses are effectively unguessable, and the database only returns mail for addresses you own. That isolation is tested automatically on every release. ### Can my whole team share a workspace? Yes, on the Team plan: an organisation with unlimited seats, where you choose who sees each project and admins see them all. It's $5 a month or $45 a year for the whole organisation, or $95 once. On the Free plan each person has their own account and projects. ### Can I reply to or send email from a test address? No. Test inboxes are receive-only: nothing is ever sent, replied to or forwarded from them. That keeps them useless for spam. ### Do plus-addresses work? Yes. Mail to name+run7@mailclub.dev arrives in name@mailclub.dev with the tag shown, which is handy for telling test runs apart. ## Related guides - [Test sign-up and email verificationA fresh, private address for every sign-up test, with the verification link or code ready the moment it lands.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/email-verification-testing) - [Test OTP and one-time login codesCodes pulled out of the email with a Copy button and a countdown when the email says how long they last.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/otp-code-testing) - [Test magic links and passwordless sign-inSingle-use links that are never opened or prefetched on our side, so they still work when you click them.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/magic-link-testing) - [Test password reset emailsRequest, receive and use reset links, and keep the new password saved next to the test account.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/password-reset-testing) - [Take QA notes by voice with Wispr FlowDictate what each test account is for, its state and what you found, straight into its notes, in seconds.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/voice-notes-wispr-flow) - [Verification link points to localhost:3000Why emails from staging link to localhost, how to fix it in Supabase, Firebase and other stacks, and how we flag it.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/localhost-links) - [Common Supabase sign-up and login problemsEmails that never arrive, links that expire or sign nobody in, and sign-ups that fail, with the fix for each.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/supabase-auth-problems) - [Common Firebase sign-up and login problemsMissing verification and reset emails, verified users who still look unverified, failing links and sign-up limits, with the fix for each.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/firebase-auth-problems) - [Sign-up and login problems in vibe-coded appsThe login bugs AI-built apps usually ship with: emails only you receive, links to the preview, missing pages, and what to ask the builder.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/vibe-coded-login-problems) - [Test sign-up emails in PlaywrightA complete Playwright test for sign-up codes and links, from a fresh inbox to the report on the pull request.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/playwright-email-tests) - [Test sign-up emails in CypressA complete Cypress test for sign-up links and codes, with the email waits running as Cypress tasks.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/cypress-email-tests) - [Test sign-up emails with pytestA complete pytest test for sign-up codes and links, with Playwright for Python or Selenium and a one-file helper.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/pytest-email-tests) - [Test coupon codes and welcome offersThe coupon with its discount, end date and arrival time, what checkout did with it, and a failure when an expired or reused one is accepted.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/coupon-code-testing) - [Test unsubscribe links and one-click unsubscribeThe unsubscribe headers and link checked on every marketing email, and a watch that flags any marketing after unsubscribing, with no time limit.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/unsubscribe-testing) - [Test that a welcome offer can't be claimed twiceVersions of one address that reach the same inbox, and a check that fails when the same person got the offer more than once.](https://proxymail.qa/solve/welcome-offer-abuse) [Built your app with an AI tool? Pick yours](https://proxymail.qa/built-with)