Questions about Hide my email header information

[trelo005]

I have a question about Hide my Email.
Suppose someone sends me an email to my HME. I reply to the email. Then, does the other person see my real email address in the header information of the email I sent, instead of the HME?

As far as I have tried between my HME and gmail, the header information only shows the HME address.

However, I have found some people who claim that I should not reply from HME because the header information contains my real email address.

Does anyone know more about this?

This is written through a translator. Sorry if this text is strange.

 

[BigBlur]

No, the information is stripped out. It's basically an email relay service. They are emailing your HME address, which goes to Apple and they forward it to you. Apple generates a funky iCloud email address to reply back to (you can see this address when you hit reply), which goes back to Apple and they forward it to the recipient. You're never emailing the recipient directly. You could always test this out by emailing yourself to get an idea of how this works.

 

[trelo005]

Thanks for the detailed explanation.
It gave me peace of mind. Thank you!

 

[SpottedBlackBird]

No, the information is stripped out.

Is this still true?

I purchased items from a clothing store using my Hide my Email address, support contacted me, I responded to the email, it showed my Hide My Email address in the From field. However, when I sent the email and I went to the "Sent" tab in the Mail app, it shows my real name and real email as the sender it came from.

Relevant?
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253169597?answerId=257369038022#257369038022

Is this not a massive security flaw?

 

[BigBlur]

Is this still true?

I purchased items from a clothing store using my Hide my Email address, support contacted me, I responded to the email, it showed my Hide My Email address in the From field. However, when I sent the email and I went to the "Sent" tab in the Mail app, it shows my real name and real email as the sender it came from.

Relevant?
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253169597?answerId=257369038022#257369038022

Is this not a massive security flaw?

Yes, it's still true if done correctly. When you hide your email address, you're actually emailing Apple using your personal address. Apple then removes the info and relays it to them. When the recipient replies, they are emailing Apple (your hidden email address), and Apple relays it to you.

Let's assume you're emailing the.person@business.com and hiding your email.

The email you sent should look something like this in your sent items/folder

To: the.person_at_business_com_iwkd9485nfisu8@icloud.com​

From: your_real_address@whatever.com​

Apple does it's magic (removing your info) and relays it on...

What they see in their inbox

To: the.person@business.com​

From: sips_cocoons9w@icloud.com​

Header Info: Your name and real address will not be in the headers​

And when they reply, it should look something like this in your inbox

To: sips_cocoons9w@icloud.com (Hide My Email)​

From: the.person_at_business_com_iwkd9485nfisu8@icloud.com​

Header Info: Your real address will be in the headers, because it was sent/relayed from Apple and needs to get delivered to your real address​

I think some people forget the fact that this is a relay system, which adds to the confusion. You aren't emailing them directly with a hidden email address. So as long as your sent email shows as being sent to a longer version of their email address @icloud.com (the.person_at_business_com_iwkd9485nfisu8@icloud.com) and not directly to their original one (the.person@business.com), your email address will be hidden on their end after going through Apple's relay.

 

[SpottedBlackBird]

Yes, it's still true if done correctly. When you hide your email address, you're actually emailing Apple using your personal address. Apple then removes the info and relays it to them. When the recipient replies, they are emailing Apple (your hidden email address), and Apple relays it to you.

Let's assume you're emailing the.person@business.com and hiding your email.

The email you sent should look something like this in your sent items/folder

To: the.person_at_business_com_iwkd9485nfisu8@icloud.com​

From: your_real_address@whatever.com​

Apple does it's magic (removing your info) and relays it on...

What they see in their inbox

To: the_person@business.com​

From: sips_cocoons9w@icloud.com​

Header Info: Your name and real address will not be in the headers​

And when they reply, it should look something like this in your inbox

To: sips_cocoons9w@icloud.com (Hide My Email)​

From: the.person_at_business_com_iwkd9485nfisu8@icloud.com​

Header Info: Your real address will be in the headers, because it was sent/relayed from Apple and needs to get delivered to your real address​

I think some people forget the fact that this is a relay system, which adds to the confusion. You aren't emailing them directly with a hidden email address. So as long as your sent email shows as being sent to a longer version of their email address @icloud.com (the.person_at_business_com_iwkd9485nfisu8@icloud.com) and not directly to their original one (the.person@business.com), your email address will be hidden on their end due to Apple's relay.

Thank you for explaining this, that makes sense. I do see the (the.person_at_business_com_iwkd9485nfisu8@icloud.com) so that gives me peace of mind it worked. I understand why now, but I really wish they didn't show my personal info there... freaks me out.

 

[katbel]

Yes, it's still true if done correctly. When you hide your email address, you're actually emailing Apple using your personal address. Apple then removes the info and relays it to them. When the recipient replies, they are emailing Apple (your hidden email address), and Apple relays it to you.

Let's assume you're emailing the.person@business.com and hiding your email.

The email you sent should look something like this in your sent items/folder

To: the.person_at_business_com_iwkd9485nfisu8@icloud.com​

From: your_real_address@whatever.com​

Apple does it's magic (removing your info) and relays it on...

What they see in their inbox

To: the.person@business.com​

From: sips_cocoons9w@icloud.com​

Header Info: Your name and real address will not be in the headers​

And when they reply, it should look something like this in your inbox

To: sips_cocoons9w@icloud.com (Hide My Email)​

From: the.person_at_business_com_iwkd9485nfisu8@icloud.com​

Header Info: Your real address will be in the headers, because it was sent/relayed from Apple and needs to get delivered to your real address​

I think some people forget the fact that this is a relay system, which adds to the confusion. You aren't emailing them directly with a hidden email address. So as long as your sent email shows as being sent to a longer version of their email address @icloud.com (the.person_at_business_com_iwkd9485nfisu8@icloud.com) and not directly to their original one (the.person@business.com), your email address will be hidden on their end after going through Apple's relay.

Thanks for your detailed answer but when I try to answer an email sending to the @icloud.com (the.person_at_business_com_iwkd9485nfisu8@icloud.com) I get :
the Apple Server rejected it

Am I missing something ?