What is privaterelay.appleid.com?
Seeing an address like x7k2mq9d4f@privaterelay.appleid.com in your account, your customer list or your inbox? It is real, and it belongs to a real person.
An address ending in @privaterelay.appleid.com is a Hide My Email address created by Sign in with Apple. When someone signs up for an app or website with their Apple Account and chooses to hide their email, Apple makes a unique random address that forwards mail to their real inbox. The app never sees the real address. It is not spam or a fake account.
Where these addresses come from
When an app or website offers Sign in with Apple, the user can choose Share My Email or Hide My Email. If they hide it, Apple creates an address ending in @privaterelay.appleid.com just for that app. Each app gets a different address, so one leaked address cannot be linked to another.
Addresses ending in @private.icloud.com are the same idea, made with iCloud+ Hide My Email in Safari, Mail or Settings.
How the forwarding works
- Mail sent to the relay address is forwarded to the person's verified Apple Account email.
- Only the app or website it was created for can reach them through it.
- Apple says it does not read the messages beyond standard spam filtering, and deletes them from its relay servers after delivery.
- The person can reply, and Apple keeps their real address hidden in the reply too.
For iPhone users: find, change or stop an address
- See your addresses: Settings → [your name] → Sign in with Apple (on newer iOS, under Sign-In & Security), then choose the app.
- Stop the emails: in the same place, choose the app and turn off forwarding, or stop using Sign in with Apple for it.
- Change where mail goes: with iCloud+, go to Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Hide My Email → Forward To.
- On a Mac, the same options are in System Settings → [your name].
For businesses: emailing these customers
If your customer list has @privaterelay.appleid.com addresses, those are real customers. Keep them on your list. But Apple only forwards mail that comes from the email addresses or domains the app's developer has registered with Apple, and that pass SPF (and DKIM) checks. Mail from anywhere else is rejected.
- Register your sending domain or address in your Apple Developer account, under the Sign in with Apple email settings.
- Make sure that domain has valid SPF and DKIM. See the deliverability checklist.
- Don't try to email these customers from a personal inbox: it will bounce.
Is it a scam?
No. The domain belongs to Apple, and the address is a privacy feature. If an email you received claims to be from Apple and asks you to log in or pay, that is a separate question. Read how to tell if an email is legit.
Questions people ask
- Can I find the real email behind a privaterelay.appleid.com address?
- No. That is the point of the feature. Only Apple and the account owner know which real address it forwards to.
- Why did my email to a privaterelay.appleid.com address bounce?
- Apple only accepts mail for these addresses from senders the app's developer registered with Apple, and the mail must pass SPF. Mail from any other address is rejected.
- Should I remove these addresses from my mailing list?
- No. They are real people who chose to hide their address. Send from your registered domain and they will receive your mail.
- What is the difference between privaterelay.appleid.com and private.icloud.com?
- Both are Apple Hide My Email addresses. privaterelay.appleid.com addresses come from Sign in with Apple; private.icloud.com addresses are made with iCloud+ Hide My Email.