Apple says it is reversing a planned change to iCloud+ Hide My Email and will keep Hide My Email addresses on the existing icloud.com domain. The decision follows user feedback after Apple announced in June that it would unify the domains used by Sign in with Apple and Hide My Email under a single private.icloud.com domain.
Apple’s update indicates that, while Hide My Email will not move, Sign in with Apple will still shift to private.icloud.com later this year, replacing the previous privaterelay.appleid.com delivery domain. Multiple outlets report that iPhone users worried a domain move for Hide My Email could make it easier for websites and services to block iCloud aliases by filtering private.icloud.com, potentially affecting legitimate sign-ins and mail forwarding.
Developers also get guidance: Apple says Sign in with Apple addresses created before the change continue to be forwarded without interruption, and app or website operators should allow the private.icloud.com domain in addition to privaterelay.appleid.com.
Hide My Email remains a paid iCloud+ feature that generates unique addresses for services and forwards messages to the user’s real email address, which the service does not see.