disposable-email-domains VS check-if-email-exists

Disposable Email Domains - https://github.com/ivolo/disposable-email-domains

However adding more and more domains isn't the real solution as some websites will continue blocking aliases and hiding/obfuscating isn't the real solution. We are in discussion with some other email alias service to find a sustainable solution. In the meantime, please send us the website that blocks our aliases so we can get in touch with them. And please let us know whenever you see attempts to block aliases like https://github.com/ivolo/disposable-email-domains/issues/846.

This is indeed a real risk and we have some monitoring to make sure SimpleLogin domains aren't listed in these block lists. SimpleLogin community has also helped flagging these attempts, for example this one https://github.com/ivolo/disposable-email-domains/issues/846

The point is not about ideological debates, making money from GPL software is purely a practical business decision. Many people are doing it, see e.g. https://reacher.email/ (written in Rust btw).

I started with open-source.

I initially created https://github.com/reacherhq/check-if-email-exists, after some years it got to ~50 stars and nice overall feedback, that's when I thought of a SaaS wrapper on top of it.

So a possible path is "idea -> open-source -> monetize". I find the first arrow to be easier to execute than a direct idea to monetization leap.

We forked (this repository)[https://github.com/reacherhq/check-if-email-exists] and made a few modifications.

I run an open-source [1] email verification API, called Reacher. I managed to hit 10k ARR this year (1st year).

It's written in Rust, self-hostable, and does not use a DB of emails (like some competitors do).

Landing page: https://reacher.email.

[1]: https://github.com/reacherhq/check-if-email-exists

Check If Email Exists\ (205 comments)

GitHub issues like this one warm my heart:

https://github.com/reacherhq/check-if-email-exists/issues/91

Identifying something that needs doing, especially when you have no idea how to do it, is a bold skill.

Too often have I seen engineers be reluctant to open an issue because they don’t know how to implement it, technically. I still do it, myself. If you need it then you’ll find a way.

The converse is also true: losing focus by filing tasks and procrastinating on features because you know how to build them, not because you actually need them to move your business / project forward.