Apple faces class-action over Hide My Email privacy flaw

Apple is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit in California over allegations that its "Hide My Email" feature, marketed as a privacy tool, contains a vulnerability that can expose users' real email addresses. The lawsuit, filed on July 15, 2026, by California resident Anthony Alvarez, accuses the company of false advertising, fraud, and breach of contract.

The "Hide My Email" feature, launched in September 2021 and included with paid iCloud+ subscriptions, allows users to generate unique, random email addresses for signing up to apps and websites. Messages sent to these aliases are forwarded to the user's personal inbox, ostensibly keeping the real address hidden. According to the complaint, a security researcher alerted Apple to a flaw in this system in June 2025 that could allow third parties to uncover the real email address behind an alias.

Apple acknowledged the report about a month later but, the lawsuit alleges, left the issue unresolved. In March 2026, the company stated it had addressed the vulnerability, but subsequent testing by the researcher indicated the flaw remained exploitable. Apple later informed the researcher it planned to fix the issue in a future...