IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

iCloud+ Hide My Email addresses will remain on icloud.com

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

Theme 1 – Privacy & Deliverability Concerns
Many commenters stressed that keeping Hide‑My‑Email addresses on @icloud.com prevents sites from easily filtering or blocking them, preserving the feature’s usefulness.

“If they were moved to plain old icloud.com, I could absolutely see a bunch of companies starting to filter out all icloud.com email addresses to avoid private relay.” — MBCook
“I’m glad they listened – I use this feature extensively and would like to continue to.” — joshuat

Theme 2 – Clarification of the Two Services
A recurring point of confusion was the distinction between Sign‑in‑with‑Apple addresses (changing to private.icloud.com) and the Hide‑My‑Email service (remaining on @icloud.com). Commenters repeatedly corrected each other on this.

“Sign in with Apple addresses … will be issued on private.icloud.com. iCloud+ Hide My Email addresses will remain on icloud.com.” — NotThatFast
“That’s the Sign in with Apple domain, not the Hide My Email domain. HME is remaining at icloud.com instead of moving to private.icloud.com as well.” — jshier

Theme 3 – Skepticism About Apple’s Motives & Community Influence
Some users viewed the reversal as either a sign of Apple responding to feedback (positively) or as evidence of odd internal decision‑making (negatively).

“I've noticed a chilling new trend of apple listening to the community.” — postalcoder
“Using icloud.com domain for legit and hidden adresses is such a typical Apple strategy of holding their own users and 'others' hostage simultaneously.” — hollow‑moe
“Apple is 'big tech,' but they are the only one that appears to give a crap about privacy at all.” — consumer451

🚀 Project Ideas

AliasGuard: Indistinguishable Privacy Email Alias Service

Summary

  • Provides on‑demand email aliases that use high‑reputation domains (e.g., @icloud.com, @gmail.com, @outlook.com) so they cannot be filtered by domain‑based blockers.
  • API‑driven generation, forwarding, and instant deactivation lets developers replace Apple Hide My Email when a service starts blocking iCloud addresses.
  • Core value: guaranteed deliverability without sacrificing privacy, solving the bounce/spam‑filter frustration voiced by HN users.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Developers, privacy‑conscious users, and SaaS products that rely on anonymous sign‑ups
Core Feature Shared‑pool alias generation with automatic domain rotation and real‑time deliverability checks
Tech Stack Node.js/Express API, PostgreSQL, Redis for rate limiting, AWS SES/SendGrid for forwarding, Docker/K8s for deployment
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: tiered subscription ($0.001 per alias/month, free tier for <100 aliases)

Notes

  • HN commenters noted that moving Hide My Email to a unique domain makes it trivial to block; AliasGuard keeps aliases on mainstream domains, directly addressing the concern raised by pests, MBCook, and int_19h.
  • Provides a practical alternative for services that want to avoid Apple’s $99/yr developer fee while still offering private sign‑in, echoing philip1209’s wish for easier Sign‑in‑with‑Apple usage.
  • Could spark discussion on email reputation economics and inspire open‑source self‑hosted variants for those wary of vendor lock‑in.

HideMyEmail Monitor: Deliverability & Bounce Tracker for Privacy Aliases

Summary

  • Continuously tests each Hide My Email (or similar alias) by sending a probe message and analyzing inbox placement, spam folder, or bounce responses.
  • Alerts users via email, Slack, or webhook when an alias’s deliverability degrades, enabling timely rotation before legitimate mail is lost.
  • Core value: turns the invisible bounce problem described by saurik and xp84 into actionable insight, reducing missed communications.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Power users of Hide My Email, SimpleLogin, AnonAddy, and developers who rely on alias‑based sign‑ups
Core Feature Automated deliverability probing + reputation scoring + alerting dashboard
Tech Stack Python (FastAPI), Celery workers, PostgreSQL, AWS S3 for storing probe emails, React frontend, Twilio/SendGrid for alerts
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: $5/month for up to 500 aliases, $0.005 per extra alias/month

Notes

  • Directly addresses the frustration expressed by saurik about bounces affecting legitimate mail and by xp84 about Apple bouncing instead of discarding.
  • Provides data that could fuel HN discussions about email reputation fairness and whether Apple’s bounce behavior is intentional or a bug.
  • Could be offered as a browser extension or self‑hosted Docker image, appealing to the privacy‑skeptical crowd that dislikes relying on a single provider.

PrivacyAlias Manager: Unified Dashboard for All Anonymous Email Services

Summary

  • Aggregates Apple Hide My Email, SimpleLogin, AnonAddy, Firefox Relay, and custom domain aliases into a single UI.
  • Shows usage stats, forward‑rules, expiration dates, and provides one‑click rotation or deactivation when a service starts getting blocked.
  • Core value: eliminates the need to juggle multiple platforms and manually track which aliases are still usable, responding to the “chilling” feeling and desire for simpler management voiced by herpdyderp and consumer451.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Privacy enthusiasts, power users, and small businesses that rely on alias‑based sign‑ups
Core Feature Centralized vault, analytics, auto‑rotation suggestions, and API for programmatic alias creation
Tech Stack Electron (desktop) + React web, Firebase Auth & Firestore for sync, optional end‑to‑end encryption via libsodium, Docker for self‑host
Difficulty High
Monetization Hobby (open‑source core) with optional paid cloud sync ($2/month)

Notes

  • Responds to herpdyderp’s comment about Apple “losing their way” and the desire for a tool that restores confidence in privacy features.
  • Provides a concrete project that HN users could discuss as a counter‑point to vendor lock‑in concerns (saretup, TheDong) while still leveraging Apple’s ecosystem.
  • The open‑source nature invites community contributions, likely sparking threads on feature requests, security audits, and comparisons with existing alias managers.

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