Worried about your email privacy on iOS? Apple claims to have industry-leading security, but is it truly safe to let iOS manage your mail?
In this guide, we break down the privacy measures Apple has in place, including Mail Privacy Protection, Hide My Email, and the App Privacy Report, to help you understand whether you should trust iOS with your emails.
Is it Safe to Allow iOS to View and Manage Mail?
Your iPhone will ask you to allow iOS to view and manage mail. Should you give iOS access? Is it safe? Yes. It is. iOS asks for this permission so that it can better protect the data on your mail.
Once you provide iOS access to view and manage mail, you can take advantage of a host of amazing privacy features. Check them out below.
Use Mail Privacy Protection on iPhone
You can improve privacy protection on your Mail app if needed. Mail Privacy Protection is a feature on your iPhone that makes it hard for senders to check and learn about your Mail activity. This helps users to be safe from spam emails.
Mail Privacy Protection hides the IP address of your connection so that senders cant link it with your online activity or find your location. This also prevents senders from checking if you have seen the email or not.
Follow these steps to turn on Mail Privacy Protection,
Step 1 Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Step 2 Tap on Mail.
Step 3 Now, select the Privacy Protection option.
Step 4 Turn on Protect Mail Activity.
Also note that, if you are subscribed to iCloud+, then you can use the Hide My Email feature to generate random and unique email addresses that forward to your personal mail account. This means you don't have to share your personal email address when you fill out forms or sign up for newsletters.
Check out how to use the Hide My Mail feature in the next section.
Use Hide My Email in Mail on iPhone
If you are subscribed to iCloud+, you can use Hide My Email to send and receive email messages anonymously. Mail you send and receive will be forwarded to your original email account and this keeps your real email address private.
With iOS 15.2 and later, you can generate unique email addresses in the Mail app for additional privacy.
How to Send an email with Hide My Email
Step 1 Tap on the Compose button.
Step 2 Add a recipient and subject for your email. Note that you can only send an email to one person using the Hide My Email feature.
Step 3 Now, tap on the From field and then tap it again. Select the Hide My Email option. A new, unique email address will appear in the From field.
Tip: When the recipient replies to your email sent with Hide My Email, their reply is forwarded to your real email address.
How to Reply to an email using Hide My Email
If you receive an email or message to one of your unique email addresses, then you can continue replying using it. So this means the conversation will be private as your real email address is not revealed. Check out how,
Step 1 Tap on the Reply button and then tap on Reply.
Step 2 Now, type your response.
Step 3 Tap on the From field and select the email address you want to use to reply.
App Privacy Report
The App Privacy Report is another new feature added in iOS 15 that enhances iPhone privacy. It expands on Apple's App Tracking Transparency by showing which permissions apps have access to.
For example, your camera or microphone. While some permissions may be important for an app, the weather app doesn't require access to your camera.
The App Privacy Report gives you additional control over permissions like the ability to cancel them if needed. It also indicates if apps are following you through websites and other apps.
To turn on Privacy Report on your iPhone, do this,
Step 1 Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Step 2 Tap on Privacy.
Step 3 Scroll down and tap on Record App Activity.
Step 4 Now toggle on the switch next to Record App Activity.
You can save up to 7 days of app activity and review it yourself.
Now for the information that many people are unaware of. As I noticed when I tested the App Privacy report on my iPhone, the complete functionality is not yet available.
You can download the seven-day report and enable the function in iOS 15; but, to read it, you'll need to open it on a PC or Mac and paste it into a text editor.
A later version of iOS 15 will include the UI, which is more aesthetically pleasing and simple to use.
Other Email apps for iPhone
If you are not a fan of the Mail app included in your iPhone, then you don't have to use it. However, the mail is important for all users, young or old. So you will need a mail app to check and reply to your email. Here are some of the best email apps for iPhone.
- Spike
- Outlook
- Airmail
- Spark
- Edison Mail
- Twobird
- Hey
Conclusion - Is it Safe to Allow iOS to View and Manage Mail
Yes, it is safe to allow iOS to view and manage mail on your devices. Apple has multiple features like Mail Privacy Protection, App Privacy Report, and more to make sure that everything in your mail is safe and secure and only for your eyes.
You can safely provide iOS access to view and manage mail on your device. We hope this guide on Is it Safe to Allow iOS to View and Manage Mail was helpful.
