Types of Email Validity States in Bounceproof
When sending and verifying cold emails in Bounceproof, you can be returned multiple different email states. These states describe whether an email is valid, invalid, or something else entirely.

Justin Gluska
Updated June 6, 2023

Reading Time: 5 minutes
Sending cold emails is 100% still an effective way of reaching out to potential customers. Our agency has been sending emails to potential business leads all year and have had wonderful success. However, if you don't make sure your emails are going to real accounts before sending them, you'll likely see them come back as bounced. Bounced emails are no bueno... a high rate of bounced emails will result in a destroyed email reputation.
So not only is it important to verify all your cold email lists, but also to make sure you're using a service like Instantly to spread out email sending through multiple domains. When using Bounceproof, you'll often come across several different types of email validity states. These states describe whether an email is valid, invalid, or something else entirely. Here's an overview of all of the possible states which can be returned when verifying emails:
Valid Email
This means that the email is valid and exists. You should have no problem sending emails to these addresses. Continuously sending emails to valid domains will actually improve your domain score. This should always be your target.
Invalid Email
This means that the email is invalid and doesn't exist. You'll want to avoid sending emails to these addresses, as they'll likely be returned as bounced. A high amount of invalid sends will harm your domain until everything you send goes to spam. You don't wanna be that company.
Disposable Email
A disposable email is an email that's typically used for temporary purposes and then discarded. These types of emails are often used to avoid spam or sign up for services without providing a real email address. While you can technically send emails to these addresses, they're likely to be returned as bounced. If you want to be extra careful, don't send anything to disposable emails – find a more concrete point of contact for the company.
Typo Email
A typo email is an email address that's similar to a real, valid email address but with a typo in it. For example, instead of johnsmith@gmail.com, you might have johnsmth@gmail.com. While you can technically send emails to these addresses, they're likely to be returned as bounced if the sending service can't validate it and assumes it's a typo. If you're manually creating lists these can be more common than you think – just make sure to fix them before sending.
Catch-all Email
A catch-all email is an email address that is specified to receive all messages that are addressed to an incorrect email address for a domain. For example, if you send an email to johnsmith@gmail.com but it doesn't exist, it might get sent to a catch-all email address like support@gmail.com. We wouldn't recommend sending to these types of addresses as they're likely to be marked as spam. In addition to being marked as spam, most businesses will likely never check their catch-all email accounts, and if they do, wouldn't trust a cold email that landed in one.
Mailbox Full
This means that the mailbox is full and can't receive any more messages. You'll want to avoid sending emails to these addresses, as they're likely to be returned as bounced. This wouldn't be your fault but is a sign that the email has likely not been used or cleaned in a long time... making it invalid. Don't send any emails to full mailboxes if you find out ahead of time that they can't accept messages!
Unknown Email
This means that the email address couldn't be verified. This could be for a variety of reasons, but it usually happens when an email is new or hasn't been used in a while. You can technically send emails to these addresses, but there's no guarantee that they exist. Again, to be safe, avoid sending emails to any address that isn't able to be validated.
Spamtrap Email
A spamtrap email is an email address that's specifically set up to catch spammers. These types of addresses are often created by ISPs or blacklist providers. If you send an email to one of these addresses, you're likely to get blacklisted, so we wouldn't recommend it.
Recycled spam traps are email addresses and domains that were at one time legitimate but have since been repurposed as spam traps. An example would be james@domain.com, which was a real email address at one point but is now being used to catch spammers. It's a sign to a company that you are using old data lists (don't fall into the trap!)
Pure spam traps are email addresses that have never been used by a real person and are only set up to catch spammers.
Email Error
This means there is something wrong with the email address itself, such as a syntax error. You'll want to avoid sending emails to these addresses, as they're likely to be returned as bounced. I think you get the message by now!
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a variety of different email validity states which can be returned when verifying emails in Bounceproof. By understanding what each state means, you can better determine whether an email is worth sending something to or not. It's highly recommended to verify all email addresses before sending them, to avoid bounced emails and a damaged sender reputation. A damaged email sender reputation will undoubtably result in lower deliverability rates (if not block them completely) and a decrease in overall ROI for your business.
Bounceproof is still the best way to verify email addresses and avoid bounced emails as we head into the new year. With an advanced email verification system, you can be sure that your emails are going to the right people instead of the wrong robots. Good luck and happy emailing!
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