Definition
Hide My Email lets Apple users create random addresses that forward to their real inbox, so senders never see their true address. This gives users control over who contacts them and makes it easy to cut off unwanted mail.
For marketers, these relayed addresses can behave like low-engagement, hard-to-identify contacts, and may disappear if the user turns them off.
Relayed addresses are legitimate but carry less identity data and may show lower engagement. They can also disappear if the user turns the feature off, causing bounces. Tracking them separately helps you interpret list signals fairly.
Impact on Lists
Relayed addresses are legitimate but carry less identity data.
They may show lower engagement and can become invalid if disabled.
Why It Matters
Hide My Email masks subscriber identity, affecting list data and engagement patterns. Understanding it helps you interpret low-signal contacts fairly.
Best Practices
- Treat relayed addresses as legitimate but low-signal contacts.
- Expect lower opens from these aliases.
- Monitor for the telltale random domain patterns.
- Track the random domain patterns to identify them.
- Do not penalise them for low engagement without context.
- Keep consent records regardless of the address type.
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Related Glossary Terms
A/B Testing
A/B testing in email marketing is the practice of sending two variations of an email to a small sample of your list to determine which version performs better before sending the winner to the remaining subscribers.
ARPU (Average Revenue Per User)
ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) is a metric that measures the average revenue generated per email subscriber over a specific period, used to evaluate list value and campaign effectiveness.
Attention Rate
Attention rate is the percentage of email opens that last longer than 5 seconds, distinguishing genuine reads from passive opens, preview-pane views, or Apple MPP auto-loads.
Average Order Value in Email
Average order value in email is the average amount spent per transaction from recipients who clicked through from an email campaign.
Behavioral Segmentation
Behavioral segmentation is the practice of grouping subscribers based on their actions, such as opens, clicks, purchases, browsing and engagement patterns.
Bounce Rate
Email bounce rate is the percentage of emails that were rejected by the receiving server before reaching the recipient. It is a key indicator of list health and data quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
An Apple feature that generates private relay addresses instead of a real one. Relayed addresses are legitimate but carry less identity data and may show lower engagement.
Those contacts may show low engagement and masked identity. They can also disappear if the user turns the feature off, causing bounces.
Keep them if engaged, but track them separately. Tracking them separately helps you interpret list signals fairly.
No, the real address is hidden from you. Relayed addresses are legitimate but carry less identity data and may show lower engagement.
They can be disabled by the user, after which mail bounces. They can also disappear if the user turns the feature off, causing bounces.