What Private Relay does and when you would use it

Private Relay is a feature built into Apple devices that hides your real email address and IP address when you sign up for services online. Instead of giving a website your actual email, Private Relay generates a unique, temporary email address that forwards messages to your real inbox. The website never sees your real address or location.

You turn it on in your Apple ID settings, and it works automatically across Safari, apps, and websites that support it. It is most useful when you are signing up for something you do not fully trust — a one-time purchase, a service you might not use again, or a company with a reputation for selling contact information. It does not encrypt your email once it arrives in your inbox, and it does not hide your activity from Apple itself.

Private Relay is included free with an iCloud+ subscription, which costs $0.99 to $9.99 per month depending on storage size. If you do not have iCloud+, you cannot use Private Relay.

Key Takeaways

  • Private Relay requires an active iCloud+ subscription; it is not available on free iCloud accounts.
  • You turn it on in Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Private Email on iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
  • When enabled, it generates a masked email address for each signup, and the real sender never sees your actual address or IP.
  • Private Relay hides your address from websites but not from Apple, and it does not encrypt mail once it reaches your inbox.
  • Not every website accepts masked addresses; some require a real email for password resets or account recovery.

How to turn on Private Relay on iPhone and iPad

Open the Settings app and tap your name at the top. Then tap iCloud. Scroll down and look for Private Email (not "Private Relay" — Apple calls it different things in different places). Tap it, then toggle the switch to on. You will see a message saying "Hide My Email" or similar language.

Once it is on, you can choose whether to use a masked address for each signup. When you fill out a form in Safari or in an app, a prompt will appear asking if you want to use your real email or a masked one. Tap Use Private Email Address or Hide My Email depending on what the prompt says. Apple will generate a unique address on the spot.

If you want to see all the masked addresses you have created, go back to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Private Email and tap Manage Accounts or View All Masked Emails. From there you can delete old addresses or turn off forwarding for specific ones.

How to turn on Private Relay on Mac

Click the Apple menu in the top left corner and select System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions). Click your name in the sidebar, then click iCloud. Look for Private Email and click the toggle to turn it on.

In Safari, when you fill out a signup form, a small icon will appear next to the email field. Click it and choose Use Private Email Address. A masked address will be generated and filled in automatically. You can manage your masked addresses the same way as on iPhone — go back to System Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Private Email and click Manage Accounts.

What happens when a website receives your masked address

The website sees only the masked email, never your real one. If they send you a confirmation email, it goes to the masked address first, then Apple forwards it to your real inbox. You can reply to those emails, and the sender will see the masked address as the reply-from address — your real email stays hidden.

However, if the website later needs to send you a password reset or account recovery email, they send it to the masked address on file. Apple forwards it to you, so you will still receive it. The risk is if you delete the masked address from your Private Email settings, future emails to that address will bounce, and you may lose access to that account.

Some websites reject masked addresses outright. Banks, government portals, and services that require identity verification often require a real, verifiable email. If a site will not accept your masked address, you will need to use your real email instead.

When Private Relay does not work or is not available

Private Relay only works in Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and in apps that have built-in support for it. If you use Gmail, Outlook, or another email app, Private Relay will not automatically mask your address — you have to manually copy and paste a masked address into the signup form yourself.

Some apps and websites do not support masked addresses at all. If you try to use one and the app rejects it, you will have to use your real email. There is no way to force a website to accept a masked address if it is not designed to.

Private Relay also does not work if you are not signed into your Apple ID, or if your iCloud+ subscription has lapsed. If your subscription expires, any masked addresses you created will stop forwarding mail to your inbox.

The privacy trade-offs of using Private Relay

Private Relay hides your real email and IP address from the website you are signing up for, which is useful if you do not trust them with that information. However, Apple can see which masked address corresponds to which real address, because they are the ones doing the forwarding. If Apple receives a government request or subpoena, they could theoretically reveal the connection.

Private Relay also does not encrypt your email in transit or at rest. Once the forwarded email lands in your inbox, it is stored in plain text on Apple's servers (if you use iCloud Mail) or on your email provider's servers (if you forward to Gmail or Outlook). Anyone with access to your email account can read it.

For most people, Private Relay is a reasonable middle ground: it stops casual data collection by websites, but it is not a substitute for end-to-end encryption if you are handling truly sensitive information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a masked address to create multiple accounts on the same website?

Yes. Each time you use Private Relay, Apple generates a new masked address. You can create as many as you want, so you could theoretically sign up for the same service multiple times with different masked addresses. However, the website might detect and block this if they have fraud prevention systems in place.

What happens if I delete a masked address?

Once you delete it from your Private Email settings, that address stops forwarding mail to your inbox. Any future emails sent to it will bounce. If you need to recover an account that uses that masked address, you will have to contact the website's support and prove your identity another way.

Does Private Relay work with two-factor authentication codes?

Yes. If a website sends you a two-factor code to your masked address, Apple forwards it to your real inbox just like any other email. You can use the code normally. This works as long as the masked address is still active in your Private Email settings.

Can I see which masked address I used for which account?

Not directly. Apple does not keep a list of which masked address goes with which website. You can see all your masked addresses in Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Private Email > Manage Accounts, but they are not labeled with the service they were created for. You have to remember or check your email history.

Is Private Relay the same as Hide My Email?

Apple uses both names for the same feature. "Private Email" is what appears in Settings, while "Hide My Email" is what appears in prompts and older documentation. They do the same thing.