Since the launch of Apple Pay, we have had to provide an email address when making a purchase online—not in physical stores. Whether it was to receive the invoice or to receive the delivery of tickets, receipts, etc., an email address was part of the Apple Pay setup on all our devices. While it is a necessary piece of information in many cases, some merchants could use it to send unwanted advertisements, but now that comes to an end.
Hide my email comes to Apple Pay
With the launch of iOS 17, Apple has introduced the “Hide My Email” feature to Apple Pay, allowing us to generate a random email address when making purchases while still receiving necessary emails. This not only enhances our privacy and security but also makes it more challenging for us to receive unwanted emails after making a purchase.
The functionality of the “Hide My Email” feature is quite simple. When making a purchase, Apple Pay automatically generates a random email address that is used instead of our personal email address. This random email, which forwards any content to our main address, is provided to the merchant. Then, if desired, we can deactivate the specific email address from the Settings app in our Apple ID options, under iCloud in the Hide My Email section.
In the meantime, setting up Apple Pay to use the Hide My Email feature requires the following steps:
- Open the Settings app on our iPhone or iPad.
- Go to Wallet & Apple Pay.
- Under Email, select Hide My Email.
It may be a small step, but it is a step forward in the right direction to ensure security and privacy when making online purchases. Online shopping is becoming increasingly common, and the exchange of information is much greater compared to physical stores. Fortunately, with this new feature, we regain the assurance that we can delete the specific email address after any purchase and be done with it.
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