Apple’s email privacy change could make blocking easier

Apple is moving its anonymously generated email addresses to a new domain, @private.icloud.com, in the coming weeks. The technology company announced the transition in a note sent to developers on Monday. The update directly impacts Hide My Email, an iCloud+ privacy feature that allows paying customers to hide their real email addresses when creating online accounts. Currently, the feature generates anonymous email addresses under the standard @icloud.com domain, which then forward messages to a user’s real email address. Because these addresses currently use the same domain as regular Apple email accounts, they cannot be easily distinguished from standard users. By shifting these addresses to the dedicated @private.icloud.com domain, the change could make it easier for apps and websites to identify anonymous sign-ups and block users from registering.

According to Apple, existing addresses will continue to function and forward mail without interruption. However, the company added that app and email providers will have to update their filtering systems to ensure that emails to customers who rely on the feature continue to go through. On the platform Reddit, several users criticized the change to the email domain, stating that the transition would make it more difficult to use the service. Apple did not respond to a request for comment from TechCrunch about the change, or explain why it made the change.

The update arrives amid broader scrutiny of online anonymity and increasing legal pressure on tech platforms. TechCrunch previously reported that Apple turned over the real account information of a user who generated an anonymized email address using Hide My Email to send an allegedly threatening email to the girlfriend of the FBI director Kash Patel. Additionally, the Trump administration has made efforts over the past year to unmask anonymous accounts, including those of critics, by using subpoenas to demand that technology companies turn over information about their users.

Why it matters

This shift potentially weakens a key privacy tool by making it easier for platforms to distinguish and block anonymous users, a move that aligns with broader government efforts to reduce online anonymity.