● Covered by 4 sources · 4 reportsMedium impact4 neutral
Apple Reverses Hide My Email Domain Change, Keeps Addresses on icloud.com
Key points
- Apple reversed its plan to move Hide My Email addresses to private.icloud.com.
- Hide My Email addresses will remain on the icloud.com domain.
- Sign in with Apple addresses will still move to private.icloud.com.
- Developers need to update systems to accept private.icloud.com for Sign in with Apple.
- New Sign in with Apple addresses will transition from privaterelay.appleid.com to private.icloud.com.
- Existing Sign in with Apple addresses on privaterelay.appleid.com will continue to work.
- The change for Sign in with Apple addresses takes effect later this year.
- The announcement was made on August 24, 2026.
- Hide My Email is a privacy feature for paying iCloud+ users.
- The change was criticized by users on social media and Reddit threads.
- John Gruber of Daring Fireball first reported the update.
- Apple announced its walk-back in a developer note on its website.
- The change would have allowed websites to block addresses from the private.icloud.com domain.
Apple's Reversal on Hide My Email Domain
Apple has announced that iCloud+ Hide My Email addresses will continue to use the icloud.com domain. This decision reverses a plan announced two months prior to move these addresses to a new private.icloud.com domain.
Background of the Domain Change Controversy
Previously, Hide My Email aliases shared the icloud.com domain with regular iCloud email accounts, making it difficult for websites to block these privacy-focused addresses without also affecting legitimate iCloud emails. The proposed move to private.icloud.com would have made it easier for platforms to identify and block Hide My Email users, leading to user feedback and controversy.
Impact on Sign in with Apple
While Hide My Email addresses will remain on icloud.com, new Sign in with Apple addresses will still transition to private.icloud.com later this year. Existing Sign in with Apple addresses on privaterelay.appleid.com will continue to function without interruption.
Developer Recommendations
Apple has advised developers using Sign in with Apple to ensure their account systems, email validation logic, and allowlists are updated to accept private.icloud.com in addition to the existing privaterelay.appleid.com domain. This ensures compatibility with the upcoming changes for Sign in with Apple users.
Updates
- Apple announced its walk-back in a developer note on its website.
- The change would have allowed websites to block addresses from the private.icloud.com domain.
- Hide My Email is a privacy feature for paying iCloud+ users.
- The change was criticized by users on social media and Reddit threads.
- John Gruber of Daring Fireball first reported the update.
- New Sign in with Apple addresses will transition from privaterelay.appleid.com to private.icloud.com.
- Existing Sign in with Apple addresses on privaterelay.appleid.com will continue to work.
- The change for Sign in with Apple addresses takes effect later this year.
- The announcement was made on August 24, 2026.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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How outlets covered it
Apple has reversed its decision to move new Hide My Email addresses to the @private.icloud.com domain, which would have allowed websites to identify masked email addresses. This reversal maintains the privacy functionality of the Hide My Email feature, preventing websites from blocking or tracking users based on their masked email addresses.
Apple has reversed its plan to change Hide My Email addresses to @private.icloud.com, confirming that they will remain @icloud.com. This decision follows user criticism that the proposed change would have made the privacy feature less effective by allowing websites to easily identify and reject these addresses.
Apple announced that new Sign in with Apple email addresses will transition from privaterelay.appleid.com to private.icloud.com later this year, while existing addresses will continue to function. Additionally, iCloud+ Hide My Email addresses will remain on icloud.com, reversing a previous decision. This change requires developers to update their systems to accept the new private.icloud.com domain.
Apple announced it will not move iCloud+ Hide My Email addresses to a new domain, reversing a previous decision. This change means Hide My Email aliases will continue to use the icloud.com domain, making them harder for websites to block and preserving user privacy.