Apple announced it will change the domain for Hide My Email aliases to @private.icloud.com in the coming weeks, as revealed on June 15 by its developer news site [1]. The move will align Hide My Email aliases with those used by ‘Sign in with Apple,’ unifying both services under the same domain [1, 2].
Current Hide My Email aliases that use the @icloud.com domain will still function and continue forwarding emails without interruption [3]. However, new aliases created after the change will use @private.icloud.com. Apple has maintained a rate limit allowing users to create at least 30 Hide My Email aliases per hour [1].
Apple stated in a developer note, “In the coming weeks the company will move its anonymously generated email addresses to @private.icloud.com, effectively making it easier for apps and websites to know that an email address is private and block users from signing up.” This change aims to help apps and email providers better identify private email aliases and reduce anonymous registrations [1, 3, 2].
Some users have criticized the switch, saying it reduces the privacy effectiveness of Hide My Email and may push more people to share their real emails [3, 2]. Email and app providers will need to update their spam and sign-up filters to accommodate the new @private.icloud.com domain [3]. Apple did not respond to media requests or publicly explain the reasons behind the domain shift [3].
Apple plans to begin implementing the domain change for new Hide My Email aliases in the coming weeks, while existing aliases will remain active on the original domain [3].
