Two services, two domain decisions
Apple outlined a revised email-domain plan for its privacy services on August 24, 2026, separating an upcoming change to Sign in with Apple from the established domain used by iCloud+ Hide My Email. The update gives developers a specific compatibility task while leaving existing relay addresses and Hide My Email addresses in place.
New Sign in with Apple addresses will begin using the private.icloud.com domain later in 2026. Apple previously issued those relay addresses on privaterelay.appleid.com. The company said addresses already created on the older domain would continue operating and would forward messages to users without interruption.
The change applies to newly issued Sign in with Apple relay addresses, not a forced migration of every existing address. That distinction matters for services that store an email address as an account identifier or use it to route account messages. A system may encounter both domains: the long-running privaterelay.appleid.com format from current users and private.icloud.com on new addresses issued after the transition.
Apple separately said that iCloud+ Hide My Email addresses would remain on icloud.com. The company described that decision as the result of further consideration and community feedback. Developers therefore should not infer that the new Sign in with Apple domain also moves Hide My Email aliases.
Compatibility work for developers
Apple advised operators of apps and websites using Sign in with Apple to review three areas: account systems, email-validation rules and domain allowlists. Each needs to accept private.icloud.com alongside privaterelay.appleid.com. Validation that recognizes only the older suffix could reject a legitimate new address, while an allowlist that omits the new domain could prevent a user from registering or receiving expected account communication.
The continuing validity of old addresses also argues against replacing one permitted domain with the other. Supporting both is the approach specified in Apple’s notice. Existing users should retain the forwarding behavior associated with their current relay addresses, while later users can arrive with the new format.
Private relay addresses are part of the Sign in with Apple flow described in the developer update. For implementation teams, the practical issue is domain handling rather than a change Apple identified in the forwarding promise for existing users. Tests around sign-up, sign-in, address storage and outbound email can be checked for assumptions that only privaterelay.appleid.com is valid.
The announcement narrows the scope of the transition: one service gains a new domain for future addresses, its old addresses remain supported, and a related iCloud+ feature stays where it is. Developers who encode domain rules now have time to add the new value before issuance begins later in the year, without removing support for either the older Sign in with Apple addresses or the icloud.com addresses used by Hide My Email.
