Do People use iCloud for Mail

[5580463]

iCloud email alias for "serious" stuff (government comms/banking etc), gmail is the one I hand out to actual people. I rarely use the iCloud "hide my email" thing, but I very often use the DDG utility to generate duck email addresses, very happy with it. I've had these email accounts for close to 10 years now, I get maybe one spam email every couple of months.

I regret not being an early adopter and missing out on the @mac.com, @me.com email addresses.

 

[LeeW]

I used to use a custom domain with Gmail, I then moved to a custom domain with iCloud but I am going to change back to Gmail. iCloud+ is cheaper, but not better. In my view of course.

 

[Bananasaurus]

They do scan your emails though

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Yes, all the big tech companies do.

Why? I'm going the opposite direction (iCloud to Proton) and I'm curious to know what caused you to drop Proton

Why are you moving to Proton?

 

[mansplains]

That's unfortunate. Maybe it's because I hit the unsubscribe button like I'm shooting aliens in an arcade game. I rarely get spam now.

The problem with unsubbing on spam is the unsub link is social engineering to determine whether the email address receiving is real/active. Similar to click-through and other tracking on ads in web. Hovering over the link is a way to tell also.

I hate Hide My Email. It's okay for fighting spam, but it's absolutely useless in composing emails. You can't start an email with a Hide My address, you can only reply if someone messages you first. Also, 90% of the time, the emails it randomly generates are absolutely asinine. Things like wet_booger0z@icloud.com or something.

I can agree with the composition part, but when I said I siloed accounts think like loyalty, or retailers. I have never sent an email to Chickfila, Macy's, or Target. And if I did I don't think they care what my email address is, it's not like emailing a client or prospective employer. If anything, the obscurity is helpful in lessening your online fingerprint. Apple certainly should add the ability to pick a HME address to compose from without a reply.

 

[Expos of 1969]

I used to use a custom domain with Gmail, I then moved to a custom domain with iCloud but I am going to change back to Gmail. iCloud+ is cheaper, but not better. In my view of course.

I have read on this site complaints from a number of people having issues with setting up and using a custom domain with iCloud. I never had one with Gmail but have had a good experience with Proton.

 

[InvertedGoldfish]

My Gmail is my iCloud mail 😂😂

You should just CC the gov on all your emails and save them some bandwidth

 

[maflynn]

Why are you moving to Proton?

I found their spam filter to be better. I wanted to use different emails address, not just various aliases, and a custom domain (yes I know icloud can handle custom domains). I think Proton's privacy stand better then Apple's

Overall, I find proton's handling of spam, its controls to be better. With Apple, I'd get spammy crap in my inbox and actual emails that I need end up in the junk, i.e., false positives. For instance my mortgage payment almost always ends up in the junk folder but marketing crap from the same bank ends up in my inbox - what gives.

 

[InvertedGoldfish]

You mean they were legally bound to supply the data, they're shady

No lol

They had zero obligation to log that data they shouldn’t have been logging in the first place

At that point the law is irrelevant as is a warrant, you can’t turn over what you don’t have in the first place

 

[Bananasaurus]

The problem with unsubbing on spam is the unsub link is social engineering to determine whether the email address receiving is real/active. Similar to click-through and other tracking on ads in web. Hovering over the link is a way to tell also.

Well it helps that the spam I'm receiving is from actual companies. I don't sign up to anything questionable, so I've never received the kind of weird and obnoxious spam like I did when I had Gmail.

I can agree with the composition part, but when I said I siloed accounts think like loyalty, or retailers. I have never sent an email to Chickfila, Macy's, or Target. And if I did I don't think they care what my email address is, it's not like emailing a client or prospective employer. If anything, the obscurity is helpful in lessening your online fingerprint. Apple certainly should add the ability to pick a HME address to compose from without a reply.

What Apple needs to do, on top of being able to compose with an HME, is to do what other alias companies like SimpleLogin does, is to let you make your own custom email aliases. Like apple.1d6jx@icloud.com. You can put whatever word you want at the beginning and then it generates random numbers and letters, that way real @icloud.com emails aren't taken up, but you still have a level of customization instead of just getting some random garbage that Apple spits out.

 

[LeeW]

I have read on this site complaints from a number of people having issues with setting up and using a custom domain with iCloud.

I found it easy enough, but then I have been in the hosting industry for 20 years. I can understand why it would be a pain for someone when it comes to setting up mail servers with a custom domain. That said, Apple's instructions are really on point explaining how to do it.

 

[Bananasaurus]

You mean they were legally bound to supply the data, they're shady

Their website used to say they don't ever log IP addresses. And then they logged IP addresses for law enforcement. And then they immediately removed the part of their website that says they don't log IP addresses when the issue was brought up. Which is why they are shady.

I found it easy enough, but then I have been in the hosting industry for 20 years. I can understand why it would be a pain for someone when it comes to setting up mail servers with a custom domain. That said, Apple's instructions are really on point explaining how to do it.

It's incredibly simple and takes like 5 minutes. I'm not sure what issues people are having.

 

[mansplains]

Why did you stop using Proton to move to iCloud? The problems you are experiencing have never happened to me om Proton, free or paid MailPlus. I use Gmail, paid Proton with custom domain and iCloud and I find iCloud to be the worst. Just my experience of course.

Why? I'm going the opposite direction (iCloud to Proton) and I'm curious to know what caused you to drop Proton

Mostly personal preference, I paid for Proton for two years and simply didn't like it. The interface was clunky (have to bridge in order to use in Mail on Mac), didn't like labels/folder system, ads in my inbox for proton vpn I have no need for (iCloud private relay and I vpn through my home network when I'm out, unifi console). It also got old telling people my long email address, which was long due to domain and not me (xxxxxxx @ protonmail.com).

Add custom domains and HME from iCloud for $1/m when I don't trust Proton any more than I do Apple? No need for 3rd party apps on my computer or iPhone? And ability to view on AW? It just made sense for me and my email usage.

My Proton sub expired 2mos into Proton's makeover and I wasn't impressed. It added alias emails and the @ proton.me so it's a little shorter, but I can't recall whether these are paywalled.

 

[LeeW]

The problem with unsubbing on spam is the unsub link is social engineering to determine whether the email address receiving is real/active.

To be fair, if that is happening then the website you are signing up for notifications is questionable in the first place.

 

[mansplains]

To be fair, if that is happening then the website you are signing up for notifications is questionable in the first place.

When I say spam I mean messages that aren't requested. I absolutely did not request notifications from these senders:

Clicking on the unsub links in these messages will only yield negative results. Senders aren't bound by anything to halt, let alone my clicking a link they're tracking me with.

 

[windows4ever]

I know about the data sharing among the big internet companies from personal experience. It's not something I "believe" or "read somewhere on the internet".

Years ago I created a fake Facebook account with a yahoo mail account. Facebook suggested a "friend" to me and the only way they would have know any connection to that suggested "friend" is if they had access to the contents of my yahoo mail.

Same with a gmail account I had. I linked a different yahoo e-mail address to the account and amazingly, Google suddenly knew things about me that could only be known if they scanned through the e-mails of the yahoo account.

Needless to say, I no longer use Facebook, Google, Yahoo, etc.

 

[mansplains]

Well it helps that the spam I'm receiving is from actual companies. I don't sign up to anything questionable

I hear ya, it's more from data breach, think haveibeenpwned dotcom.

You can put whatever word you want at the beginning and then it generates random numbers and letters

That could be nice, it would also make the emails more easily identified from a user perspective, macys.b0zafb @ icloud.com.

 

[maflynn]

The interface was clunky (have to bridge in order to use in Mail on Mac)

I only use the web interface for both iCloud and proton. I didn’t like the idea of using that bridge app

It also got old telling people my long email address,

One major prerequisite for me to use proton was to use a custom domain. I found a nice shirt domain and that works really well

 

[fatTribble]

I only use iCloud email. It’s always worked just fine for me. Personally, I resist Google.

 

[Expos of 1969]

I know about the data sharing among the big internet companies from personal experience. It's not something I "believe" or "read somewhere on the internet".

Years ago I created a fake Facebook account with a yahoo mail account. Facebook suggested a "friend" to me and the only way they would have know any connection to that suggested "friend" is if they had access to the contents of my yahoo mail.

Same with a gmail account I had. I linked a different yahoo e-mail address to the account and amazingly, Google suddenly knew things about me that could only be known if they scanned through the e-mails of the yahoo account.

Needless to say, I no longer use Facebook, Google, Yahoo, etc.

Are you actually free from Google? That is virtually impossible. If you use the internet Google will get some info and data. Friends who have you as a contact will be perhaps unknowingly be providing your info to Meta, Google etc. Your intentions may be good but...

 

[Bananasaurus]

I hear ya, it's more from data breach, think haveibeenpwned dotcom.

That could be nice, it would also make the emails more easily identified from a user perspective, macys.b0zafb @ icloud.com.

Yes. You can then see exactly at a glance who’s sharing your email with other companies if you’re getting spam from a different source than the alias.

 

[Bananasaurus]

Are you actually free from Google? That is virtually impossible. If you use the internet Google will get some info and data. Friends who have you as a contact will be perhaps unknowingly be providing your info to Meta, Google etc. Your intentions may be good but...

Yes, that’s called cross data harvesting and it’s insane.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Still somewhat new to Macs and am wondering if people use Apple’s iCloud mail for email. I’ve always used my gmail but I’ve wondered if there’s any advantage to just using iCloud.

Th.

Yes, I use iCloud to maximize compatibility among the many different Apple devices. The down side is that Apple routinely screws us hard by arbitrarily killing developed apps after we build them into enterprise-critical workflows: e.g. eWorld, MacProject, Aperture...

I strongly doubt that Apple will ever kill iCloud, but I also thought that about MacProject and about Aperture and had invested a few thousand hours into each of those apps when Apple arbitrarily killed them off.

 

[klasma]

Years ago I created a fake Facebook account with a yahoo mail account. Facebook suggested a "friend" to me and the only way they would have know any connection to that suggested "friend" is if they had access to the contents of my yahoo mail.

It’s more likely that the “friend” shared their contacts (including your email address) with Facebook.

That’s the issue with big-tech email providers: Even if you never use them, they know you and your connections via your contacts who do use them.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

I understand. I don't trust Apple at all, personally...

...The only way to be truly private is to stop using all technology and starting living in an Amish village.

By virtue of being on this thread we are by definition not in Amish villages. The point is to minimize loss of privacy, personal data mining, etc. And choosing Apple and DuckDuckGo over entities like Google et al. that state collection and resale of personal data as their primary business model is one way to do that.

 

[Bananasaurus]

By virtue of being on this thread we are by definition not in Amish villages.

Yes, I know. My point was the only way to have privacy is to ditch technology altogether and live off the grid.

The point is to minimize loss of privacy, personal data mining, etc. And choosing Apple over entities like Google et al. that state collection and resale of personal data as their primary business model is one way to do that.

We just have to do whatever we can to lower our online footprint, but I feel the idea of privacy in general on the internet is a bit of an illusion.