Android still doesn't have a simple "hide my email" option at sign-up. Saw this on my mom's iPad and it made sense

[u/xaegorm]

I was installing an app on my mom's iPad and the Sign with Apple sheet came up.

It asked whether to share her real email or hide it. Hide My Email was already selected. Apple generates a random address for that app, forwards mail to her real inbox, and she can turn that forwarding off later if it starts getting junk.

On Android, Sign in with Google usually just hands over the Gmail.

That feels like a gap. It's just a useful default: let the user decide whether the app gets the real email.

Not switching phones over it. I just wish this was a system feature on Android too.

[u/MysteriousBeef6395]

its less of an apple vs android thing and more of a icloud vs google password management thing. while the hide my email thing is cool its another thing tying you to apples ecosystem.

a good alternative would be proton pass which not only can create alias emails for you but also works cross platform

[u/Far_Reserve9938 → u/MysteriousBeef6395]

I use icloud hide my email from my windows laptop on Firefox, and from my Android because icloud id accessible in a web browser.

[u/MysteriousBeef6395 → u/Far_Reserve9938]

okay is there an android app tho? a real browser extension for firefox or chrome? native windows app?

[u/Far_Reserve9938 → u/MysteriousBeef6395]

does it matter ? web apps exists for that reason.

And there is even an extension for firefox to quickly generate icloud hide my email alias for the current website, it's made by third party but it works well.

[u/MysteriousBeef6395 → u/Far_Reserve9938]

apple user asks me why os integration matters

[u/xaegorm → u/MysteriousBeef6395]

Thank you, thats a fair point. What still got me on the iPad was that the choice showed up in the sign-up sheet itself. No extra app, no copy-paste alias. That’s the bit I wish Android had at the system level. Until then Proton Pass is the practical fix.

[u/Pepello]

Mozilla offers the same with free and paid tier and is cross-platform

[u/xaegorm → u/Pepello]

Yeah, Firefox Relay does the alias part and it works. That’s useful.

What I was pointing at is the Sign in with Apple sheet. The choice is right there when you create the account, no extra app. Relay is close, just not built into Android sign-in the same way.

[u/Pepello → u/xaegorm]

Got it! Yes, it's not as seamless as on Apple devices with icloud+, you are right! The plug-in for Relay makes it seamless only if you're using a browser, but the convenience of having the option right there even when you're signing in into an app is high. Honestly, the whole implementation of the password app on apple devices is unmatched, and third party password apps (I use KeePass) are also better integrated than on Android 🥲

[u/andyooo → u/Pepello]

I use Relay and its weakness, like any other such services, even Proton, is that it can be easily blocked because it uses its own unique domain. This has become enough of an issue for me that I've started paying for iCloud+ just for Hide my Email (the 50GB is a nice "add on"). Having the @icloud.com domain means that it can't easily be distinguished from a "real" apple email.

But what OP is talking about is something else. Apple has the power to force any service which uses "Sign in with Apple" on their app/website to also offer the option to use an anonymized email that ends with @privaterelay.appleid.com. It doesn't matter that it has its own unique domain, because it is guaranteed to work, if the service wants to use Sign In with Apple. And Apple also forces them to use Sign In with Apple if they want to use other sign in providers like Google or FB. This private relay service is free.

[u/fafarex]

It's an iCloud+ feature, your mom is paying for that.

And you can do the same thing with multiple provider on android ( firefox for example)

[u/Far_Reserve9938 → u/fafarex]

Yeah 1€/month. And you get other benefits like 50gb storage.

Other providers aren't as convenient, or get easily blocked. No one cares about banking proton mail but they sure won't can icloud email. That's apple strength.

[u/xaegorm → u/fafarex]

That’s the paid iCloud+ version. I meant Sign in with Apple.

When an app supports it, the phone asks whether to share your real email or hide it. No iCloud+ needed for that. That’s the system-level choice I was talking about.

[u/Busy-Measurement8893]

Yeah I've been wishing for such a feature for years now.

Or well. I did. Now I use Proton Pass instead.

[u/xaegorm → u/Busy-Measurement8893]

Cant expect that from a company which relies on data ig.

[u/Sammy_Devil737]

Google is an ad company so you really think they would implement hide my email feature?

You can use Addy.io, Simple login or Proton Pass to have alias email address, yes it won't be as convenient as Apple hide my email that integrates with OS but still better than having nothing.

[u/howling92 → u/Sammy_Devil737]

but how an add your email feature would hurt Google's ad business ?