SimpleVerifier Team · Reviewed
Is it legal to verify email addresses?
Verifying an address does not send a message, so email marketing laws that govern sending, such as CAN-SPAM, do not apply to the check itself. Where privacy law like the GDPR applies, an email address that identifies a person is personal data, so processing it needs a lawful basis and a data processing agreement with the verifier.
What changes by region
In the US, CAN-SPAM regulates commercial messages you send, not a connection that ends before any message exists. Under the GDPR and UK GDPR, checking a list is processing personal data when the addresses identify people, and many organisations rely on legitimate interests for business contacts, with a documented assessment. The verifier acts as your processor, so look for a DPA and a subprocessor list.
This is general information, not legal advice; ask a lawyer about your own situation.
Related questions
- Do verifiers keep my uploaded list?
- Check each vendor's retention terms. SimpleVerifier's privacy policy and security pages describe what is stored.
Sources
Figures marked as ours come from SimpleVerifier’s own dated tests on made-up addresses, published with their data on the research page. No customer data is used, and we publish no accuracy percentage because we have no independent measurement to back one.
Do it now
Test it on a real address first
Type any address. It gets the same check the paid plans run: syntax, the domain’s mail servers and, where the provider allows it, a live mailbox check. Nothing is sent to the address.
Five checks a minute, no account needed. Nothing is sent to the address — we ask its mail server whether the mailbox exists, then disconnect.
Have a list? Sign in with Google and the first 100 addresses are checked free, with results to download. No card.
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