Apple Finally Lets You Ghost People Like a Pro (Here’s How to Hide Your Email on iOS 15)

You know that sinking feeling when you sign up for something online — maybe a 10% off coupon, maybe an app, maybe “just one quick free trial” — and suddenly your inbox turns into a digital dumpster fire?

Enter Apple’s Hide My Email — the iOS 15 feature that basically says, “You can have my number… but not my real one.”

Finally, a way to ghost websites, spam lists, and ex-boyfriends who still somehow have your iCloud address, without deleting your account or moving to another country.

Let’s walk through how to use it, how to make the most of it, and how to clean up your mess when you’ve got more fake emails than Tinder matches.

Step 1: How to Activate Hide My Email Like a Privacy Ninja

First off, you’ll need iOS 15 or newer and an iCloud+ subscription (the cheap one works fine — you don’t need the “space for your entire camera roll since 2007” tier).

Then:

1. Go to Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Hide My Email.
2. Tap Create new address.
3. Watch Apple instantly generate something that looks like your cat walked across the keyboard. Example: b8k4lzn7yz@icloud.com.
   (It’s okay. Nobody’s supposed to remember it.)
4. Give it a label like “SketchyOnlineShop” or “ThatOneGymICancelled.”

Boom. Done. You now have a working, randomly generated alias that forwards messages to your real inbox without revealing your actual email address.

It’s basically your email wearing sunglasses and a fake mustache.

Step 2: Where Your Fake Addresses Actually Go

Every time you use Hide My Email to sign up for something, messages to that fake address get forwarded to your real iCloud inbox.

That’s right — Apple plays digital middleman. You get the emails you want (the confirmation code, the receipt, maybe the “we miss you” guilt-trip email), but your real address stays safe in its cozy, undisclosed location.

If you start getting spam from that address, you don’t have to hire a hacker or throw your phone into Kempenfelt Bay.
You just… delete the alias.

Instant silence.
No unsubscribe links, no explaining yourself, no emotional goodbyes.

Step 3: How to Manage, Delete, and Unmask Them Later

You can manage all your fake addresses right from your settings:

• Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Hide My Email.
• Tap any alias to see where it forwards, rename it, or turn forwarding off.
• To delete it entirely, hit “Deactivate address.”

Pro tip: You can even do this from Safari or Mail while signing up for something — just tap the “Hide My Email” option when prompted.

So when a site asks for your email and you feel the scam energy through the screen, you can instantly give them your disposable alias instead of your real one.

And if you’re the kind of person who loves digital spring cleaning (or just got carried away with “Hide My Email” like a kid making fake IDs), you can log in to your iCloud.com → Account Settings to manage them all at once.

Step 4: The Secret Catch Nobody Mentions

Apple’s Hide My Email is great, but here’s the fine print they don’t plaster on the billboards:

• It only works inside Apple’s ecosystem. Gmail still sees you.
• You can’t reply anonymously — your real email shows up when you respond.
• And no, it doesn’t stop you from accidentally signing up for a pyramid scheme.

In short: it hides your email, not your judgment.

Use it wisely. Or at least better than that time you clicked “accept all cookies” like a toddler hitting every elevator button.

Wrap-Up: Why Hiding Your Email Won’t Hide Your Cracked Screen (That’s Our Job)

You can protect your privacy all you want — but Apple hasn’t yet invented a feature that stops your phone from taking a swan dive off the counter.

So while you’re out there living your best secret-agent email life, keep in mind: if your iPhone screen looks like it just survived a bar fight, we’ve got you covered.

At Barrie Screen Repair, we fix cracked screens, dead batteries, broken ports, and the occasional phone that “fell off the couch” (we know it was the toilet).

So go ahead — hide your email, block your ex, and keep your inbox drama-free.
Just don’t hide your phone from us when it’s time to fix it.