Apple hides my email and personal privacy controls

From time to time, you have to register a new member account, or leave an email to the merchant to get some welcome offers , and then you will receive a large number of advertising letters. To avoid bombarding a person's inbox with useless messages, causing tears to shed non-stop, or to maintain personal privacy, separate incoming and outgoing email addresses can also use Apple's new paid service announced at WWDC 21: "Hide Me" Hide My Email! Here is the official description:

Hide My Email lets you create unique random email addresses to use in apps, websites, and more, keeping your personal email private. This is a built-in feature of Sign in with Apple and iCloud+. "

In fact, it is based on your own Apple email address, and then when you apply for a new account or want to email others, users can choose to instantly generate a forwarding email address to your real address. Of course, the premise is that you believe that Apple acts as a middleman to guard personal privacy.

To use this feature, the device must be upgraded to iOS 15 or macOS Montery or newer, and then there will be options attached to some places where you need to fill in the email address, select the desired address, and optionally select a note for identification~

You can use the same email in multiple places, or create them separately, so that you can easily know which address is sent from (and which organization resells your information) . You can also set up n random addresses in the iCloud.com online settings (personal profile page) in advance on iOS/macOS devices, even people who don't have Apple devices to use them later. And the address can be suspended and added with identification mark respectively!

The brain is only used to remember the most important passwords! (quoting myself, haha)

I also use the open-source cross-platform KeePass (refer to the introduction of computer playthings) to freely choose apps for computers and mobile devices to handle: account information, encrypted currency wallet characters, and OTP one-time passwords. Of course Apple's Keychain is also very useful, but can no longer be used in non-Apple ecosystem, such as my backup Android phone sss .

No one can easily believe, even if you think it is the same person / the same color business!

When you receive an advertising email from a merchant, you will see "Email Hide My" displayed in the recipient field, click on it to know the sending address.

In addition, it can also be equipped with the new "mail privacy protection" , advertising emails will be processed by Apple before they are sent to your local mailbox, and some hidden tracking pictures that are not actively detected and visible in the email body will be excluded and used for " It prevents senders from being able to connect to your other online activities, or to find out where you are . It also prevents senders from seeing if you have opened emails they sent."

Even if you're not greedy for the small number/merchant offers like me, it's still good to have a few more emails close by, if you know how to use automated things like email filters/conditional filing/Siri Shortcuts/IFTTT East. The above actions are also to protect myself, and at the same time reflect my world view (a bit exaggerated, lol)

Hong Kong $8 per month, Taiwan NT $30 per month!

Well, there is no free lunch in the world, so let's talk about money! To use this feature, you need to subscribe to the cheapest iCloud plan, which is 50GB storage space, and you can have this privacy protection feature!

What about the phone number?

If you want to leave your phone number, you can actually buy some online stored-value cards called "annual cards" that are valid for one year at a lower price. This is more complicated and will be explained in another article. There are several phone numbers to receive SMS verification codes , and some call blocking APPs are added, and then independent social media accounts are added, and then Android's sandbox function is used, so that you can leave a casual "contact" with more peace of mind. Information" for marketing or welcome offers .

However, after Hong Kong requires real-name registration of the SIM card, this method needs to be modified again.

What about the real home address?

No solution has been found for this, unless you have multiple home addresses that you don't use frequently. If I had to collect myself living there, I would really push back.

Physically, there is no way to remove the advertising materials. At most, go to the post office to pick up a free "No Circular Letter" and put it on the mailbox , so that the uncle of the postman does not send advertising letters. But my mother likes to receive paper advertising letters to store bones... (But the garbage levy for the next two years, I don't want to spend time dealing with excess garbage)

Summarize

It doesn't seem like it's very dangerous to give an email address, I just don't want people to know when I checked my email, and to know that my idiot took the email address that I used in elementary school with affection(?) to this day!

In fact, there are many low-cost protection methods, such as multi-authentication and VPN, other than basic methods such as Internet access, other cost-effective methods such as:

• Less use of SignInWith or something, more use of different passwords
• Reduce entering fixed passwords and try to use one-time multi-factor authentication
• Try to use Apple Pay to shop instead of physical credit cards
• Use gift vouchers to shop, turn a few times to switch transactions; use multiple instant messengers to pass some messages
• Plan your route using Apple Maps or OpenStreetMap
• Set up a non-four-digit phone password
• Use a virtual eSIM
• There are countless fake passwords for viewing content when someone is forced to unlock the app. …

If I have a small budget/psychological willingness, I would also like to try physical authentication keys such as Yubico Swedish brands, etc.  …

The introduction of the article is borrowed from current affairs, see "DSE Candidates' Chinese Paper Misuse of Idioms: My Tears Are Flowing "Non-stop" in Stand News