Temp mail for Cursor: a developer's privacy guide

Cursor has quickly become the AI code editor of choice for a huge number of developers — a VS Code–based environment with an AI assistant wired into every file you open. But to use it, you create an account, and from that moment your email is tied to your coding sessions, your prompts, and often the code itself. For anyone who cares about privacy — or who simply wants to try Cursor before committing to it — that raises a fair question: does your real email need to be attached to everything you build?

Table of Contents

• What data does Cursor collect from developers?
• Why developers should separate their email from AI coding tools
• How to sign up for Cursor with a temporary email
• Managing accounts across multiple AI coding tools
• Cursor privacy settings worth knowing about
• Alternative ways to protect your privacy with Cursor
• Frequently asked questions

What data does Cursor collect from developers?

Cursor is built by Anysphere, and like any cloud-connected AI tool it needs to send data off your machine to work. When you create an account and start coding, the following is typically collected or processed:

• Account information — your email address, name, and billing details if you upgrade to a paid plan.
• Prompts and code context — the snippets, files, and instructions you send to the AI are transmitted to Cursor's servers and to the underlying model providers (such as OpenAI and Anthropic) to generate completions.
• Codebase indexing data — to answer questions about your project, Cursor can index your repository and create embeddings of your files.
• Usage and telemetry — which features you use, how often, and basic performance data.
• Technical data — IP address, operating system, and editor version.

What makes a code editor different from a typical web app is the nature of what it sees: your source code. That can include proprietary business logic, unreleased features, API keys accidentally left in a file, and internal documentation. In 2023, Samsung banned employees from using public AI chatbots after engineers pasted confidential source code into one — a reminder that "just a coding tool" can quietly become a data-exposure path. Cursor's Privacy Mode changes how much of this is retained, but the default experience still routes your code through third-party models. Here's the difference at a glance:

Why developers should separate their email from AI coding tools

Using your primary or work email for every AI tool you try carries some avoidable risk:

• Your code is sensitive IP. A code assistant has visibility into work that may be under NDA, unreleased, or commercially valuable. Tying that activity to your real identity is a bigger deal than signing up for a newsletter.
• Third-party models are in the loop. Your prompts and code can pass through external model providers. The fewer permanent identifiers attached to that traffic, the better.
• Policies change fast. AI startups iterate on their data handling constantly. What a tool promises today about retention and training can change after a funding round, acquisition, or pricing overhaul.
• Cross-platform profiling. If the same email logs into Cursor, GitHub, Google, and your social accounts, a breach at any one of them makes it easier to connect the dots into a single profile.
• Employer visibility. If your company runs Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, signing up for SaaS tools with your work email can be visible to IT. Some organizations actively monitor which AI services employees register for.

None of this means Cursor is dangerous — it's an excellent tool. It means keeping your AI experiments on a separate email address is simple digital hygiene, the same way you wouldn't reuse one password everywhere.

How to sign up for Cursor with a temporary email

Creating a Cursor account with a temp mail address takes a couple of minutes:

1. Get a temporary email. Visit temp-mail.io — an address is generated instantly, with no registration required.
2. Start the Cursor sign-up. Download Cursor from cursor.com or open the sign-up page. Cursor offers Google and GitHub login, but those tie the account to your real identity — choose the email option and paste your temporary address for the most separation.
3. Verify the email. Cursor sends a verification code or link. Open your temp mail inbox at temp-mail.io and confirm.
4. Set a strong password. Store it in a password manager so you can still sign back in while the address is active.
5. Enable Privacy Mode before your first session. Open Cursor's settings and turn on Privacy Mode so your code isn't retained or used for training from the start.

Practical tip: if you later decide to pay for Cursor Pro, you can change the email on your account at any time. Start with a temp mail for evaluation and switch to a permanent address only once you've committed.

Managing accounts across multiple AI coding tools

The AI coding space is crowded — Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, Codeium, Zed, Cline, Continue, and more. Most developers try several before settling on one or two. Using your main email for all of them means:

• Every tool keeps your contact details and can email you indefinitely.
• You collect marketing emails from each one — new features, pricing changes, newsletters.
• A breach at any single tool exposes the email you use everywhere.
• Abandoned accounts keep your real email on file long after you've stopped using them.

A practical evaluation workflow:

1. Evaluation phase: grab a fresh temp mail from temp-mail.io for each editor you want to test. Run Cursor, Copilot, and Windsurf side by side for a few days.
2. Decision phase: pick the one or two tools that genuinely fit your workflow. Most developers don't need five AI assistants.
3. Commitment phase: for the tools you keep, set up a permanent account with a dedicated email (still not your primary one).
4. Cleanup: the temp mail accounts you used for evaluation expire on their own. No manual account deletion needed for the tools you didn't choose.

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Cursor privacy settings worth knowing about

Whether you signed up with a temp mail or your personal email, these settings are worth adjusting:

• Turn on Privacy Mode. Privacy Mode tells Cursor and its model providers not to store or train on your code. On Business plans it's enforced by default; on other plans you should enable it yourself before opening a real project.
• Use a .cursorignore file. Just like .gitignore, it lets you exclude sensitive files and folders (secrets, environment files, private modules) from being indexed or sent to the AI.
• Be deliberate about codebase indexing. Indexing makes the assistant smarter about your project, but it also means embeddings of your files leave your machine. Decide per project whether that trade-off is worth it.
• Never leave secrets in open files. API keys, tokens, and credentials in a buffer can end up in a prompt. Keep them in environment variables and excluded paths.
• Manage your account email. If you started with a temp mail and decide to stay, update the account to a dedicated address you control.

Alternative ways to protect your privacy with Cursor

Depending on your needs, other approaches include:

• Use a permanent email alias. For tools you intend to keep, a forwarding alias from Alias Email gives you a permanent address that hides your real inbox — a better fit than a disposable one when you need ongoing access and password resets.
• Run local models. Pairing a local model runner like Ollama with an editor extension such as Continue keeps your code entirely on your machine. Local models are less capable than frontier models, but nothing leaves your device.
• Choose the Business plan. If privacy is non-negotiable for company work, Cursor's Business tier enforces Privacy Mode and adds organizational controls.
• Temp mail for evaluation, dedicated email for keeping. The most practical path for most people: use temp-mail.io to try AI editors, then commit a dedicated (non-primary) email to the ones you keep.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Cursor for free?

Yes. Cursor has a free tier with a limited amount of AI usage, and a temporary email works fine for creating that account. It's an easy way to see whether the editor fits your workflow before paying for Pro.

Does Cursor train on my code?

With Privacy Mode enabled, Cursor states that your code is not stored or used for training — you can read the specifics on Cursor's security page. Without it, prompts and code context can be retained to improve the product. If your work is sensitive, enable Privacy Mode before your first session.

Can I use Cursor with GitHub or Google login and stay private?

OAuth logins are convenient, but they tie your Cursor account directly to your real identity. For more separation, sign up with an email instead — a temp mail for trials, or a permanent alias from Alias Email for tools you keep.

Will Cursor block temporary email addresses?

Some services block specific disposable domains. Temp-mail.io rotates across many domains, so if one address is rejected, you can refresh for a new one on a different domain.

Can I change my Cursor email later?

Yes. You can update the email on your Cursor account at any time, so it's safe to start with a temporary address and move to a permanent one once you decide to keep the tool.

AI coding tools are transforming how software gets built — but they don't need to know who you are to be useful. Use temp-mail.io to evaluate Cursor and its rivals on your own terms, and keep your identity separate from your codebase.