Set up viewer email validation in Dropbox DocSend

Updated Jan 21, 2026

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When Require email to view is enabled, you can use viewer email validation to confirm that a visitor’s email address comes from a valid, deliverable source. This helps you accurately identify who’s accessing your shared content. 

Temporary or disposable email addresses, such as those from Mailinator or Guerilla Mail, are automatically marked invalid. Visitors will need to use a valid email address to access your content. 

Configure email validation

As the account owner or admin, you can enable or disable the viewer email validation at the company level. When disabled, visitors can enter invalid  or disposable email addresses and still access shared content, making it harder to track who viewed your content. 

To configure viewer email validation:

  1. Log in to docsend.com.
  2. Go to Company settings.
  3. Click the Privacy & Security tab.
  4. Disable or enable next to Attempt to confirm that visitors’ email addresses can receive messages.
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Note: If Allow viewers (Restrict access) is enabled, email validation checks are skipped for those visitors. Once validated, an email address remains valid for 30 days, so repeat visitors don’t need to reverify. Email validation also applies to campaign and mail merge links when Track forwarding is turned on. 

User experience: Invalid email address

When a visitor enters an invalid email address, you'll receive an email alert. 

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Note: Only the creator of the link receives this notification.

Disable unauthorized email notification

To disable these alerts:

  1. Log in to docsend.com.
  2. Go to Notification settings.
  3. Toggle disableor enable next to When a viewer attempts access with an unauthorized email.
  4. Select Save Changes.

Visitor viewer experience: Invalid email address

If visitors enter an invalid email address, they'll be prompted to enter a valid one before accessing your content.

If a valid address is mistakenly flagged as invalid, the visitor can verify it by following these steps:

  1. Click Click here to verify this email address in the prompt.
  2. Open the verification email in their inbox and select Verify your email address.

Once verified, the email remains valid for 30 days, so the visitor won’t need to repeat the process during that time. 

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