Apple Hide My Email: How It Works & How to Use It

Privacy shouldn’t be complicated.

If you’re tired of spam or worried about your real email leaking in a data breach, Apple’s Hide My Email may be the solution.

It creates unique, random email addresses (like [email protected]) that forward messages directly to your real inbox.

The easiest way to access this feature is to use the “sign in with Apple” option and select “hide my email.”

While easy, this option is only available in supported apps and websites. 

But here are more ways to access it.

Updated: February 18, 2026

The big question: is Hide My Email free?

Before we move on, here’s a crucial distinction. 

There are two versions of this service:

• Sign in with Apple (Free): Automatically creates aliases when you use your Apple ID to create an account on supported apps or websites.
• iCloud+ (Paid): Allows you to manually create unlimited random addresses for any reason—like signing up for a newsletter or using a QR code menu.

In other words, the free version works only in one scenario: when Sign in with Apple is available.

If you need it for anything else, the paid version is required.

Now, let’s see how to use it.

5 ways to activate Apple’s Hide My Email

You can access this feature in five different ways, depending on what you’re doing.

However, before you do so, make sure you’re signed into the same Apple Account on all devices and have two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled.

Otherwise, this feature won’t be available to you.

1. When signing up for new accounts (free)

Suitable for: Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, and Mac) alongside other systems (Android and Windows), but an active Apple ID is required

This is the most common method.

When you see the “sign in with Apple” option on an app or website:

1. Tap/click “sign in with Apple.”
2. Select “hide my email” from the prompt options.
3. Apple automatically generates an alias restricted to that specific app/website.

This is the only free way to use this feature. As mentioned, it’s limited in scope to just this one scenario.

Now, it’s time for more advanced—and paid—options.

2. When using Apple Pay (iCloud+ required)

Suitable for: only Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, and Mac)

You can hide your email when buying something online using Apple Pay:

1. Open the “Apple pay” payment sheet during checkout.
2. Tap/click the “contact” section.
3. Choose “hide my email” to generate a new address specifically for that merchant.

Note: if you’ve already used this feature with a specific merchant, every future purchase will use the same aliased email address. Each merchant is assigned a unique email address.

3. When browsing in Safari (iCloud+ required)

Suitable for: only Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, and Mac)

If you’re filling out a web form that doesn’t have a “sign in with Apple” option:

1. Tap/click on the “email address” field on the website.
2. Tap/click “hide my email.”
3. Review the suggested random address.
4. Tap/click the “refresh” icon to generate a different address (if needed).
5. Tap/click “continue” to use it.

Note: this option works only when using the Safari browser.

4. When sending a new email (iCloud+ required)

Suitable for: only Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, and Mac)

You can send a new email (not just a reply) using a random alias:

1. Open the “mail” app and start a new message.
2. Tap the “from” field.
3. Select “hide my email” from the pop-up menu.

Note: you can only send to one recipient at a time when using this feature.

5. Manual setup in settings (iCloud+ required)

Suitable for: Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, and Mac) alongside other systems (Android and Windows) when logged into iCloud

Use this to create an address “just in case” (e.g., to write down on a physical form).

On iPhone or iPad:

1. Open “settings” → [your name] → “iCloud.”
2. Tap “hide my email” → “create new address.”
3. Follow the onscreen steps to label your address.

On Mac:

1. Open “system settings” > [your name] > “iCloud.”
2. Click “hide my email.”

On the Web (Android/Windows):

1. Go to iCloud.com/icloudplus and sign in.
2. Select “hide my email” to create or manage addresses.

How does Hide My Email work?

The backend of this feature is rather simple.

To conceptualize it best, think of Apple as a middleman between you and the sender.

When someone sends an email to your alias address, it doesn’t go straight to you. Instead:

1. The sender emails your alias address.
2. Apple’s relay receives it on its servers and forwards it to your real address.
3. Your inbox receives the forwarded message.

Apple claims to delete these messages from their servers within seconds of forwarding and that it doesn’t read your content except for standard spam filtering.

What can you use it for?

The first thing that comes to mind is opening new online accounts. This is probably what you’re going to use this feature for the most.

But it’s not the only use case. Here are some more:

• Online shopping to prevent merchants from adding your real address to marketing lists.
• One-time registrations to sign up for services you don’t plan to commit to for long.
• Testing services, like trying new apps without sharing your real email.
• Public forms, like the ones at restaurants, stores, or events that request emails.
• Accessing free WiFi at airports, on trains, and any other places that grant internet access only after you’ve provided an email. 
• Unknown websites to protect yourself when you’re unsure about a site’s legitimacy.

Sending, replying to, and managing emails

If you wonder: “Does it work when I both send and reply to emails?”

The short answer is yes. But there are some caveats. 

With the free version (used with Sign in with Apple), you can only reply to emails—you cannot send new ones. You have to wait for someone to message your alias email first, and only then can you send an email back.

The first time you use the Sign in with Apple function in an app or website, a new random alias is created. That means only one service can be assigned to each address.

However, if you upgrade to iCloud+ you gain much more control. 

First off, you have the option to manually create your aliased email addresses (whereas the free version does it automatically, with no option to edit them). 

If you create your alias email manually, you can send messages and reply to anyone—no limits on the number of recipients assigned to each masked address. 

Unlike the free version, you don’t have to wait for anyone to email you first. You can send a fresh message, just like you would with your regular address.

When you hit “send” or “reply” in the Apple Mail app, Apple automatically masks your “from” field with the alias. The recipient never sees your real address.

Pro-tip: label everything

Regardless of whether you’re using the free or premium version, it’s a good idea to label each recipient.

Just add a label to the first email you receive via each alias address (e.g., “gym membership”).

If you start getting spam on that alias later, you’ll know exactly which company sold or leaked your data.

You can deactivate or delete your aliases

But be careful with these settings:

• Deactivating stops the flow of mail but saves the address in an “inactive” list. You can reactivate it later.
• Deleting is permanent. You must deactivate an address before you can delete it. Once deleted, the address is gone forever and cannot be recovered.

FAQ