Apple's anonymous email feature isn't as private as you might assume.

      Apple's Hide My Email feature is useful, but don't count on it to protect you from law enforcement.

      Apple’s Hide My Email tool serves as a valuable privacy enhancement for iCloud+ subscribers, allowing them to use randomly generated email addresses that forward to their actual inbox. This feature helps users keep their real email addresses hidden from apps and websites. Apple also asserts that it does not access the forwarded messages.

      This makes it a practical tool for reducing spam and maintaining distance from questionable services seeking your email.

      However, it seems that it does not shield your identity from the police.

      What’s happening?

      According to legal documents reviewed by TechCrunch, Apple disclosed the true identities of at least two users of Hide My Email to federal authorities. In one instance, the FBI requested records in connection with an email that allegedly threatened Alexis Wilkins, who has been reported as the girlfriend of FBI director Kash Patel.

      The affidavit referenced in the article states that Apple linked the anonymized email address to the targeted account and provided the user's full name and email address, along with information from another 134 anonymized email accounts created using this feature.

      TechCrunch also mentions a second search warrant associated with a Homeland Security investigation, revealing that Apple similarly provided information connecting Hide My Email accounts to specific users.

      Siri Unsplash

      Why this matters to you

      Before criticizing Apple for violating privacy, it's important to understand the difference between corporate practices and legal warrants. Hide My Email is intended to protect users from apps, websites, and marketers, not from legal inquiries.

      Apple continues to retain user data such as names, addresses, billing information, and other unencrypted data, which can be released when authorities present the appropriate documentation. Therefore, an email address can be a vulnerability. Most emails are not end-to-end encrypted, making them fundamentally different from services like Signal, which have gained popularity due to their strong privacy protections.