Apple one time email addresses

At WWDC 2019 Apple announced “Sign in with Apple.” This is a service that allows iOS users to log into different applications with private, dedicated email address. When developers send mail to that address, Apple will forward it to the email address associated with the users AppleID. App developers that offer any third party log in will be required to also offer AppleID log in.


icon of a padlock with an at sign on it

Apple has set up a private email relay service for this program. Program users must register their sending email domain and addresses and publish SPF records for that domain.


In order to send email messages through the relay service to the users’ personal inboxes, you will need to register your outbound email domains. All registered domains must create Sender Policy Framework (SPF) DNS TXT records in order to transit Apple’s private mail relay. You can register up to 10 domains and communication emails. Configure Private Relay

Not only are Apple protecting their user’s email addresses, but they’re also denying access to anyone who is not preregistered. This means any stolen apple addresses are likely to be invalid after they’re stolen from the initial sender.

I do have to wonder what deliverability will be like. This is just a forwarding service so there are questions about how this will affect marketers.

  1. When registering addresses, do you need to register the 5321.from, 5322.from or both?
  2. Will the relay server rewrite the 5321.from?
  3. If the relay server rewrites the 5321.from, how will that interact with companies using only SPF authentication for DMARC?
  4. If the relay server doesn’t rewrite the 5321.from, how will that interact with companies who use only SPF authentication for DMARC?
  5. Will the relay server make any changes that break DKIM?
  6. When forwarding to domains that have DKIM based FBLs will FBL mails reveal the recipient address to the marketer?
  7. What happens to mail coming from an unregistered email address?
  8. How do users unsubscribe from emails? Will Apple include the private email address in emails?
  9. How is Apple going to maintain the reputation of their relay IP addresses?

I’ve got mail into Apple asking if they’ll answer some technical questions about this. We’ll see if they answer.

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I subscribed to what?

Tomorrow is GDPR day. That’s the day when the new Global Data Protection Regulations take effect in the EU. I’m sure everyone reading this blog has seen dozens, if not hundreds, of blog posts, articles, webinars, and guidance docs about how to comply. I’m not going to rehash it because, other folks know this better than me.
There are a some things I’m finding fascinating watching  this whole GDPR thing.
First, the number of companies who have my addresses and I don’t know why. Take Newsweek (yes, the magazine people). They’re sending GDPR notifications to my LinkedIn address. I can’t figure out why they’re harvesting / buying addresses from LinkedIn. Then there’s SALESmango who are some company that started spamming me a few years ago and refuses to accept unsubscribe request. They’re sending me opt-in requests. Yeah, no, go away. I told you to stop, but wow, you won’t.
Another interesting piece is just how much I’ve signed up for over the last 18 – 20 years I’ve been using this set of addresses. Wow. So much mail. And, generally, I thought of myself as relatively careful in who I gave email addresses to. I don’t normally go around dropping addresses into forms but even a couple a month adds up over 20 years.
Then there are the companies violating CAN SPAM in one way or another. Sending mail to unsubscribed addresses and refusing to include an opt-out link are the two things I’ve seen regularly. Yeah, no. I think it’s safe to say that if I’ve opted out from receiving your mail, you should probably put my data away in a dark closet and not touch it again. But.. but.. but… But nothing. Go away. As for the lack of an unsubscribe link, get over yourself. You’re not that special. I don’t think that this really is something that counts for exemption.
Also, is there an official template? So many of these emails look identical. I have to give credit to whomever did it first. Because if plagiarism is the sincerest form of praise, you have an entire industry praising you.
Finally, it’s been amusing to watch the general frustration with all the GDPR mail. It seems many people are getting tired of the deluge. That’s OK, though, it should end by Saturday. Or so we can only hope.
 

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Collecting email addresses

One of the primary ways to collect email addresses is from website visitors, and it’s actually a pretty good way to collect addresses. One of the more popular, and effective, techniques is through a pop-up window, asking for an address. Users need to provide an address or click a “no thanks” link or close the window. I’ve noticed, though, that many companies drop something passive aggressive in their “no thanks” button. “No, thanks, I don’t want to save money.” “I don’t need workout advice.”

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Jane! Stop this crazy thing!

One of the consequences of moving to Ireland is I’m unsubscribing from most commercial mail, including some lists I’ve been on for a decade or more. Sadly, many of the companies don’t ship to Ireland, or their shipping costs are prohibitively expensive. Even if I wanted to purchase from them, I couldn’t.

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