Apple is changing its Hide My Email feature, a move that privacy advocates argue will diminish its effectiveness. The company plans to shift newly generated aliases from the "@icloud.com" domain to "@private.icloud.com" later this summer.
Hide My Email allows users to create unique, random email addresses that forward messages to their primary inbox. This feature is designed to protect users' personal email addresses from spam, marketing lists, and data brokers by allowing them to sign up for services without revealing their real email. Users can also delete aliases if they wish to stop receiving emails from a particular service.
The core privacy benefit of the previous system was that "@icloud.com" aliases were indistinguishable from regular iCloud email addresses. This made it difficult for websites or apps to determine if an email address belonged to a genuine Apple user or someone using the privacy feature. However, the new "@private.icloud.com" domain explicitly identifies an address as a Hide My Email alias.
This change means that websites and applications that wish to block anonymous sign-ups can now easily reject any email address ending with "@private.icloud.com." This could render the feature less useful for users seeking to sign up anonymously for services that may discourage or block such registrations.
Existing Hide My Email addresses will continue to function as before. However, any new aliases created after the change will be issued on the new domain.
The announcement has drawn criticism from some Apple users, particularly on platforms like Reddit, where users expressed disappointment that the feature's utility for anonymous sign-ups would be significantly reduced.
It is important to note that Hide My Email does not guarantee complete anonymity. Earlier this year, it was reported that Apple provided law enforcement with the account details of a Hide My Email user who allegedly sent threatening messages. This incident serves as a reminder that the feature's privacy protections are not absolute and can be subject to legal requests.
