Websites, marketing services, applications, and other third parties greatly value your email address. It has a significant impact on how businesses provide their goods and services to you directly with little cost and effort. Occasionally receiving spam and commercial emails is usually not a big deal, but when your inbox is overrun with them, they ultimately start to bother you. The good news is that there are ways to assist stop this from occurring.
Apple users may reduce spam by using the built-in Hide My Email feature, which keeps your inbox small by blocking the appearance of unsolicited emails. For iCloud customers who subscribe for iCloud Plus, which costs between $1 and $10 a month, the function is one of three privacy-focused services.
Read more: Encrypted Private Relay Is Among Apple’s New iCloud Plus Features
When you want to get a deal or download anything for free, you may utilize Hide My Email to create an anonymous, random email address. After you get what you need (such as a coupon code or free download link), you may always deactivate the Hide My Email address and stop any future emails from arriving, even if emails received to the anonymous email are routed to your actual account. It works similarly to unsubscribing from a mailing list, although it’s more simpler on iOS.
Take a look: Top features of iOS 15: How my iPhone was enhanced by Focus mode 07:20
In what ways does Hide My Email shield me from unsolicited spam?
When a website asks for your email address, you may use Apple’s Hide My Email function to create a random, one-of-a-kind email address. After that, it will route emails to your real inbox while lowering the quantity of lists that include your real email address.
Additionally, Hide My Email gives you greater control over who may reach you by enabling you to add and remove as many addresses as necessary at any moment. This is comparable to Sign In with Apple, which makes it more difficult for others to follow you online by using your iOS device to validate credentials rather than your social media account logins.
Because Sign In with Apple also offers a function called Hide My Email that doesn’t need an iCloud Plus membership, it may be a little confusing. The Hide My Email function of iCloud Plus allows you to create and erase email accounts whenever you need to, but the Sign In with Apple option is limited to app and service sign-ups. To put it another way, the “old” capability is only available when you use your Apple ID to sign up for a service, while the iCloud Plus feature lets you use it whenever you want and for any reason.
iPhone’s “Hide My Email” function
Keeping track of all the strange email addresses you create is made easier with Hide My Email.
Apple
On the iPhone, where is Hide My Email?
Mail, iCloud, and Safari all come with built-in Hide My Email features. The 2021 software update for iOS 15, iPadOS 15, MacOS Monterey, and iCloud.com included it. As long as you have iOS 15 installed, you may test it out right now.
See also: iOS 15’s Digital Legacy Safeguards Your Data After Your Death
How can I configure my email to be hidden?
After downloading Hide My Email, follow these steps to configure it on iOS 15:
Hide My Email on Apple
A list of every random email address produced by Hide My Email is available for you to locate and control.
1. To access your account, go to Settings and hit your name at the top.
2. Select Hide My Email under iCloud.
3. Select “Create New Address.” A distinct, random address that ends in @icloud.com will be automatically generated by Apple and sent to your personal mailbox. You may choose Use Different Address to see a different address if you’re not happy with the one it generates. If you’re happy, press “Continue.”
4. To assist you remember what your address is for, you may label it and write a message on the next screen. In the top right corner, tap Next.
Now that your random address has been generated, you may use it wherever you choose.
How can I control or remove email addresses that I’ve made using Hide My Email?
Here’s how to handle all of these arbitrary email addresses:
1. To access your account, go to Settings and hit your name at the top.
2. Select Hide My Email under iCloud. A list of every address you’ve made using the labels you entered will appear.
3. To see the app, the label, any notes, the random address that Hide My Email generated, and the location to which it is being sent, tap any of the items in the list.
4. Tap Deactivate Email Address at the bottom to remove one of the email addresses. Confirming your selection and informing you that you may revive the address from an Inactive Addresses list, a popup will appear. Press “Deactivate.”
You cannot, however, disable the anonymous email function if you utilize the Hide My Email tool via Sign in With Apple unless you also delete Sign in With Apple. You can check all the applications and websites that are presently utilizing both Hide My Email and Sign in With Apple by tapping Manage Settings after selecting any choices in the Hide My Email list. You may choose Stop Using Apple ID in any of those choices to disable Hide My Email, but doing so will also disable Sign in With Apple, so you’ll need to find an other method to get into that app or website going forward.