If you use an iPhone and have ever created an account on a website or app using Apple’s Hide My Email feature, a change coming soon could make that privacy tool less useful.
Apple announced that it’s moving its hidden email addresses from @icloud.com to @private.icloud.com. That shift might sound small, but it has real privacy implications for users in Ghana and worldwide.
What is Hide My Email, and why does it matter?
Hide My Email is a feature bundled with iCloud+ (Apple’s paid cloud storage service). When you use it, Apple generates a fake email address that forwards messages to your real email inbox. The smart part: because these hidden addresses looked identical to regular iCloud addresses, websites and apps couldn’t tell them apart.
This meant you could sign up for services anonymously without giving away your real email or personal data.
Why is Apple changing it?
By moving hidden emails to @private.icloud.com, Apple is making it obvious which addresses are masked. Websites and apps will now be able to spot these private addresses and block users from signing up with them—defeating the whole point of the feature.
Apple did not explain why it made this change. However, TechCrunch reported earlier this year that Apple handed over a user’s real identity when law enforcement requested information about someone who used Hide My Email to send a threatening message.
What happens to your existing hidden email addresses?
If you already have hidden email addresses, they will keep working. Apple says messages will continue to forward to your real inbox without interruption. You won’t lose access to accounts you’ve already created.
But any new hidden addresses you create will use the @private.icloud.com domain, making them easier to block.
What should you do?
If you rely on Hide My Email for privacy: Consider whether the feature still serves your needs if websites start blocking @private.icloud.com addresses. You may want to explore other privacy-focused email masking services (like DuckDuckGo’s Email Protection or Proton Mail’s SimpleLogin) if Apple’s changes make Hide My Email less reliable for you.
If you use it casually: This change probably won’t affect you much. Most everyday websites don’t block iCloud addresses.
Keep an eye on how websites respond over the coming weeks. Some will block the new @private.icloud.com addresses; others won’t bother.
Leave a Reply