Hide My Email creates random addresses that forward to your real inbox, so a company never sees your real address. The best way to use it is to make one alias per service and label each one so you can tell later where it came from.
To create one on your iPhone:
- Open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud.
- Tap Hide My Email, then Create New Address.
- Give it a label that names the service, such as "Local bank" or "Newsletter X", and tap Continue.
You can also choose Hide My Email from the suggestions when Safari offers to fill in a sign-up form.
A few habits make it work well:
- Use a separate alias for each account, so one leak or spam source doesn't affect the others.
- Deactivate rather than delete when a service starts sending junk. Deactivating stops the mail, and you can turn it back on if you need the account again.
- Check the forwarding address in the same screen, so you know where the mail lands.
- Reply from the alias if you want the other side to keep seeing only the hidden address. Apple's Mail settings let you send from it.
It requires an iCloud+ subscription. Menu names can shift a little between iOS versions, so if a step doesn't match your screen, check Apple's own support page for your version. Which services have you been using it with, and has it been useful for stopping spam?
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