Hide My Email is an iCloud+ feature that generates a unique, random email address (like fuzzy-lake-8821@icloud.com) that quietly forwards to your real inbox. You hand the random address to a website, newsletter, or store — and if it starts getting spam, you delete that one address without touching your real Apple ID email. This guide covers every way to use it on a Mac.
What you need first
- An iCloud+ subscription. Hide My Email is part of iCloud+ — the paid iCloud tier. Any paid iCloud storage plan (starting at 50GB) includes it. The free 5GB tier does not.
- macOS Monterey or later signed in to your Apple Account (System Settings > your name at the top).
- Two-factor authentication turned on for your Apple Account (required for iCloud+).
Generate a Hide My Email address from Settings
This is the fastest way to make a spare address you can copy and paste anywhere.
- Open System Settings (Apple menu > System Settings).
- Click your name/Apple Account at the top of the sidebar.
- Click iCloud, then scroll to Hide My Email.
- Click the + (or Create new address).
- Optionally add a label (e.g. "Newsletter" or "Best Buy") and a note so you remember what it is for, then click Continue > Done.
- Click Copy address and paste it into the signup form on the site you are using.
Every address you create forwards to the same real inbox by default — the one shown under Forward to at the bottom of the Hide My Email screen.
Create one on the fly in Safari (autofill)
You do not have to pre-generate addresses. When Safari sees an email field on a signup page, it can mint one instantly:
- Click into the email field on any signup form in Safari.
- In the autofill suggestions, choose Hide My Email.
- Safari generates a fresh random address, fills it in, and saves it to your list automatically — labeled with the site's name.
This is the cleanest workflow: a different address for every site, with zero effort.
Use it when signing in with Apple
When a site offers Sign in with Apple, you will see a choice to Share My Email or Hide My Email. Choosing Hide My Email creates a relay address tied to that app or site, so the developer never sees your real address. These "Sign in with Apple" relays are managed in the same place as the ones you create manually.
Manage, change the forwarding inbox, or delete an address
- Go to System Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Hide My Email.
- Click any address to see its label, note, and the date it was created.
- To stop the spam from a specific sender, select its address and click Deactivate address (you can reactivate later) or Delete address to remove it permanently.
- To change where all your Hide My Email addresses forward, use the Forward to setting at the bottom and pick a different verified email on your account.
Note: a deactivated address stops forwarding immediately — anyone emailing it will bounce. Reactivate it if you deactivated it by mistake.
Common questions
Can I send email from a Hide My Email address?
Yes, but only from Apple Mail. In Mail, when composing, click the From field and pick the Hide My Email address. Replies you send keep your real address hidden. Third-party mail apps generally cannot send from these relay addresses.
Do the addresses expire?
No. A Hide My Email address stays active until you deactivate or delete it. "Sign in with Apple" relays stay active as long as you keep using that app.
Is it the same as a spam folder or a junk filter?
No — it is upstream of that. Hide My Email keeps your real address off the site's list entirely, so if that list leaks or gets sold, your real inbox is never on it. You can still delete the burner address anytime to cut the sender off completely.
What happens if I cancel iCloud+?
Existing addresses stop forwarding, so plan ahead before downgrading — switch any important signups back to your real address first.
Hide My Email is one of the quietest privacy wins on a Mac — a fresh address for every signup, all forwarding into one clean inbox you already know how to manage. If you want to keep the rest of your mail tidy too, see how to add an email account to Mail, set up rules and smart mailboxes, and unsend an email you just sent.
Shopping for a dependable Mac that runs the latest macOS and every iCloud+ feature? Browse our Apple clearance deals on tested, warrantied refurbished MacBooks and iMacs — or explore more Mac how-to guides.