How to Use iCloud Mail with Custom Domain and Apple One
If you are looking for a free and secure email service that works seamlessly with your Apple devices, you may want to consider iCloud Mail. iCloud Mail is part of iCloud, the cloud storage and backup service from Apple that lets you store your photos, files, notes, passwords, and more in the cloud and keep them up to date across all your devices.
In this article, we will explain what iCloud Mail is, how to set it up, what features it offers, and how it compares to other popular email services.
What is iCloud Mail ?
iCloud Mail is a free email service that gives you an @icloud.com email address or a custom domain email address if you subscribe to iCloud+. You can access your iCloud Mail account using a web browser at iCloud.com or a desktop or mobile device using the Mail app.
What is Apple One ?
Apple One is a monthly subscription service that offers access to various Apple services for one low price. Depending on the plan you choose, you can enjoy Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud+, Apple News+, and Apple Fitness+
These services allow you to stream or download music, movies, shows, games, news, and workouts on your Apple devices or compatible platforms.
You can also store your photos, files, and backups on iCloud+ and get features to protect your privacy.
Apple One is available in individual and family plans, which let you share the services with up to five other people.
You can sign up for Apple One on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV, or on the web.
You can also get a free trial for any services you haven’t tried before.
Apple One is a great way to get more out of your Apple devices and save money on individual subscriptions.
What is Custom Domain ?
A custom domain is a unique and registered name that identifies a website or an online campaign It is attached to the website’s IP address and appears in the browser’s address bar.
A custom domain is also known as a vanity URL or a vanity domain It can help people recognize and trust the links associated with the brand.
A custom domain can be purchased from providers like GoDaddy, Dreamhost, and HostGator to fit your brand.
Some of the purposes and uses of a custom domain are:
Brand identity: A custom domain name becomes your company’s online moniker. Visitors expect your domain name to match or closely resemble your company name, so stay consistent to maintain brand identity.
Credibility: A custom domain name boosts credibility and makes your website appear legitimate to visitors. It also protects you from phishing scams that may use generic domains to trick users.
Memorability: The more straightforward your domain name is, the easier it is to remember. The easier it is to remember, the more likely people will remember it when typing in their search bar — and that means more traffic directed to your website.
Differentiation from competitors: Use a clean, catchy custom domain to differentiate yourself from competing sites with clunkier domains.
Authority boost: A custom domain name boosts search engine optimization (SEO). Search engines look at the root domain on sites. A custom domain that reflects your brand is typically more relevant to what a user is searching for than a generic domain.If that’s the case, then your site with the custom domain will likely be ranked higher.
iCloud Mail supports Push email, which means that new messages are delivered to your device as soon as they arrive on the server. It also supports IMAP sync, which means that you can access your email from multiple devices and keep them in sync.
iCloud Mail also offers features like:
Mail Drop: A feature that lets you send and receive large files up to 5 GB without using your iCloud storage space.
VIP contacts: A feature that lets you mark certain contacts as VIPs and see their messages in a separate mailbox.
Aliases: A feature that lets you create and manage up to three alternative email addresses that use the same inbox as your primary iCloud Mail address.
Rules: A feature that lets you set up rules to filter your email automatically based on criteria like sender, subject, or attachment.
Junk mail: A feature that helps you manage unwanted email by moving it to a separate folder or deleting it automatically.
Archive: A feature that lets you archive messages instead of deleting them, so you can access them later if needed.
Hide My Email: A feature that lets you create unique, random email addresses that forward to your personal inbox. You can use Hide My Email to sign up for websites or newsletters without revealing your real email address. This feature is only available with iCloud+.
To use iCloud Mail, you need an Apple ID and an iCloud account. If you don’t have one, you can create one for free on any Apple device or at appleid.apple.com.
Once you have an Apple ID and an iCloud account, you can set up iCloud Mail on any device by following these steps:
On an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud and turn on Mail.
On a Mac: Go to System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud and select Mail.
On a Windows PC: Download and install iCloud for Windows from apple.com/icloud/setup/pc.html and sign in with your Apple ID. Then select Mail in the iCloud app.
On a web browser: Go to icloud.com/mail and sign in with your Apple ID.
After setting up iCloud Mail on one device, it will automatically sync with your other devices using the same Apple ID.
There are many email services available today, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of the main differences between iCloud Mail and some of the most popular email services:
Gmail: Gmail is the most widely used email service in the world, with over 1.8 billion users as of 2020. Gmail offers 15 GB of free storage space for your email and other Google services like Drive and Photos. Gmail also has many features like smart compose, spam filtering, labels, categories, snooze, undo send, and more. However, Gmail also has some drawbacks, such as privacy concerns (Google scans your emails for advertising purposes), limited offline access (you need an internet connection to use most features), and compatibility issues (some features may not work well with other email clients or devices).
Outlook.com: Outlook.com is the successor of Hotmail, one of the first web-based email services. Outlook.com offers 15 GB
Apple One is a subscription service that bundles up to six Apple services for one low monthly price, including iCloud+1. iCloud+ gives you up to 200 GB of iCloud storage for your email and other data, plus features like Private Relay, Hide My Email, and HomeKit Secure Video support.
If you subscribe to Apple One, you can use iCloud Mail with the same Apple ID that you use for Apple One. You don’t need to do anything extra to set up iCloud Mail with Apple One. You can access your iCloud Mail account using a web browser at iCloud.com or a desktop or mobile device using the Mail app.
You can also use iCloud Mail with a custom domain email address if you subscribe to Apple One. A custom domain email address lets you use your own domain name (such as yourname@yourdomain.com) instead of an @icloud.com email address. This feature is only available with iCloud+.
To use iCloud Mail with a custom domain email address, you need to have a domain name that you own or manage and a subscription to iCloud+ (either as part of Apple One or separately). You can set up your custom domain email address in the Settings app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch or in System Preferences on your Mac.
You can use iCloud Mail on your iPhone using the Mail app or a web browser. To use the Mail app, you need to set up iCloud Mail on your iPhone first. To do that, follow these steps:
Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud and turn on Mail.
If you don’t have an iCloud Mail address yet, tap Create Email Address and follow the instructions.
If you have an iCloud Mail address already, tap it and make sure it’s enabled.
Once you set up iCloud Mail on your iPhone, you can open the Mail app and start sending and receiving emails. You can also customize your settings, such as notifications, signatures, filters, and more.
To use iCloud Mail on a web browser on your iPhone, go to icloud.com/mail and sign in with your Apple ID. You can access most of the features of iCloud Mail on the web, such as Mail Drop, VIP contacts, aliases, rules, junk mail, archive, and more.
A custom domain email address lets you use your own domain name (such as yourname@yourdomain.com) instead of an @icloud.com email address. This feature is only available with iCloud+, which is part of Apple One or a separate subscription service.
To use a custom domain email address with iCloud Mail, you need to have a domain name that you own or manage and a subscription to iCloud+. You can set up your custom domain email address in the Settings app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch or in System Preferences on your Mac.
Here are the steps to set up a custom domain email address with iCloud Mail:
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Email & Internet Accounts > Custom Email Domain.
On your Mac: Go to System Preferences > Apple ID > Name & Email > Custom Email Domain.
Tap or click Add Domain and enter your domain name (such as yourdomain.com).
Tap or click Next and follow the instructions to verify that you own or manage the domain name. You may need to sign in to your domain provider’s website and make some changes to your DNS records.
After verifying your domain name, tap or click Next and choose an email address for yourself (such as yourname@yourdomain.com). You can also invite up to five family members to create their own email addresses using the same domain name.
Tap or click Done and start using your custom domain email address with iCloud Mail.
You can also use Hide My Email with your custom domain email address. Hide My Email lets you create unique, random email addresses that forward to your personal inbox. You can use Hide My Email to sign up for websites or newsletters without revealing your real email address.
To use Hide My Email with your custom domain email address, follow these steps:
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Email & Internet Accounts > Custom Email Domain > Hide My Email.
On your Mac: Go to System Preferences > Apple ID > Name & Email > Custom Email Domain > Hide My Email.
Tap or click Create New Address and enter a label for the email address (such as Shopping or Newsletters).
Tap or click Next and choose a forwarding address from your custom domain email addresses (such as yourname@yourdomain.com).
Tap or click Done and copy the new email address (such as 1234abcd@privaterelay.appleid.com).
Use the new email address to sign up for websites or newsletters. You will receive the emails in your forwarding address inbox. You can also reply to the emails using the new email address.
To manage your Hide My Email addresses, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Email & Internet Accounts > Custom Email Domain > Hide My Email on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch or System Preferences > Apple ID > Name & Email > Custom Email Domain > Hide My Email on your Mac. You can edit the labels, forwarding addresses, or delete the email addresses as needed.
A catch-all email address is an email address that receives all messages sent to your custom domain, even if the exact address they were sent to hasn’t already been created. This can be useful if you want to avoid missing any emails or if you want to use different email addresses for different purposes without creating them individually.
To use a catch-all email address with iCloud Mail, you need to have a custom domain email address and a subscription to iCloud+, which is part of Apple One or a separate subscription service. You also need to be the domain owner to use this feature.
To set up a catch-all email address with iCloud Mail, follow these steps:
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Email & Internet Accounts > Custom Email Domain.
On your Mac: Go to System Preferences > Apple ID > Name & Email > Custom Email Domain.
Select your domain name and scroll down.
Turn on Allow All Incoming Messages.
If the domain owner allows all incoming messages, any messages that aren’t sent to an active email address go to the domain owner’s inbox. If this setting isn’t turned on, those messages are returned to the sender.
Note: You won’t receive emails sent to addresses that have been previously created for other members of the domain. Messages sent to deleted email addresses are automatically returned to the sender.
iCloud+ Family Sharing lets you share your iCloud+ subscription and features with up to five family members. This includes your iCloud storage, Private Relay, Hide My Email, and HomeKit Secure Video support.
If you use iCloud Mail with iCloud+ Family Sharing, you can also share your custom domain email addresses with your family members. Each family member can create their own email address using the same domain name and access it with their own Apple ID.
To use iCloud Mail with iCloud+ Family Sharing, follow these steps:
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: Go to Settings > [your name] > Family Sharing.
On your Mac: Go to System Preferences > Family Sharing.
Make sure you have set up Family Sharing and added your family members.
Tap or click iCloud Storage and make sure you have subscribed to an iCloud+ plan that has enough storage for your family.
Tap or click Custom Email Domain and select a domain name that you own or manage.
Tap or click Invite Family Members and choose which family members you want to share your custom domain email address with.
Your family members will receive an invitation to join your custom domain email address. They can accept the invitation on their devices and create their own email address using the same domain name.
You can log in to iCloud Mail using a web browser or a desktop or mobile device. To log in to iCloud Mail, you need an Apple ID and an iCloud Mail address.
To log in to iCloud Mail using a web browser, follow these steps:
Go to icloud.com/mail and enter your Apple ID and password.
If prompted, enter the verification code that is sent to your trusted device or phone number.
You will see your iCloud Mail inbox and other folders.
To log in to iCloud Mail using a desktop or mobile device, follow these steps:
On an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud and turn on Mail. Then open the Mail app and tap Mailboxes.
On a Mac: Go to System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud and select Mail. Then open the Mail app and click Inbox.
On a Windows PC: Download and install iCloud for Windows from apple.com/icloud/setup/pc.html and sign in with your Apple ID. Then select Mail in the iCloud app. Then open your preferred email client and add your iCloud Mail account.
On an Android device: Download and install the Apple Music app from Google Play Store and sign in with your Apple ID. Then open your preferred email client and add your iCloud Mail account using IMAP settings.
iCloud Mail is a free and secure email service that works seamlessly with your Apple devices. It offers features like Mail Drop, VIP contacts, aliases, rules, junk mail, archive, Hide My Email, and more. It also lets you use a custom domain email address if you subscribe to iCloud+, which is part of Apple One or a separate subscription service.
To review iCloud Mail, you can consider the following aspects:
Pros: iCloud Mail is easy to set up and use with your Apple devices. It syncs your email across all your devices and keeps them up to date. It offers generous storage space and features to protect your privacy and manage your email. It also lets you use a custom domain email address and share it with your family members if you have iCloud+.
Cons: iCloud Mail may not be compatible with some third-party email clients or devices. It may not have some advanced features that other email services offer, such as smart compose, labels, categories, snooze, undo send, and more. It also requires an Apple ID and an iCloud account to use.
Overall, iCloud Mail is a good option for Apple users who want a free and secure email service that works well with their devices. It offers basic features to send and receive email, as well as some additional features to enhance your experience. However, it may not be the best choice for users who need more advanced features or who want to use different email clients or devices.
If you have a custom domain email address and a subscription to iCloud+, you can share your domain name with your family members who are part of your Family Sharing group. This way, they can create their own email address using the same domain name and access it with their own Apple ID.
To share your custom domain email address with your family members, you need to have Family Sharing set up and invite your family members to join. You also need to be the domain owner to use this feature.
To share your custom domain email address with your family members, follow these steps:
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Email & Internet Accounts > Custom Email Domain.
On your Mac: Go to System Preferences > Apple ID > Name & Email > Custom Email Domain.
Select your domain name and tap or click Invite Family Members.
Choose which family members you want to share your custom domain email address with.
Your family members will receive an invitation to join your custom domain email address. They can accept the invitation on their devices and create their own email address using the same domain name.
Note: You can share up to five custom domains with up to five family members. You can also stop sharing a custom domain with a family member at any time.
A catch-all email address is an email address that receives all messages sent to your custom domain, even if the exact address they were sent to hasn’t already been created. This can be useful if you want to avoid missing any emails or if you want to use different email addresses for different purposes without creating them individually.
To use iCloud Mail with a catch-all email address, you need to have a custom domain email address and a subscription to iCloud+, which is part of Apple One or a separate subscription service. You also need to be the domain owner to use this feature.
To set up a catch-all email address with iCloud Mail, follow these steps:
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Email & Internet Accounts > Custom Email Domain.
On your Mac: Go to System Preferences > Apple ID > Name & Email > Custom Email Domain.
Select your domain name and scroll down.
Turn on Allow All Incoming Messages.
If the domain owner allows all incoming messages, any messages that aren’t sent to an active email address go to the domain owner’s inbox. If this setting isn’t turned on, those messages are returned to the sender.
Note: You won’t receive emails sent to addresses that have been previously created for other members of the domain. Messages sent to deleted email addresses are automatically returned to the sender.
Apple One is a subscription service that bundles up to six Apple services for one low monthly price, including iCloud+. iCloud+ gives you up to 200 GB of iCloud storage for your email and other data, plus features like Private Relay, Hide My Email, and HomeKit Secure Video support.
If you subscribe to Apple One, you can log in to iCloud Mail with the same Apple ID that you use for Apple One. You don’t need to do anything extra to log in to iCloud Mail with Apple One. You can access your iCloud Mail account using a web browser at iCloud.com or a desktop or mobile device using the Mail app.
To log in to iCloud Mail with Apple One using a web browser, follow these steps:
Go to icloud.com/mail and enter your Apple ID and password.
If prompted, enter the verification code that is sent to your trusted device or phone number.
You will see your iCloud Mail inbox and other folders.
To log in to iCloud Mail with Apple One using a desktop or mobile device, follow these steps:
On an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud and turn on Mail. Then open the Mail app and tap Mailboxes.
On a Mac: Go to System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud and select Mail. Then open the Mail app and click Inbox.
On a Windows PC: Download and install iCloud for Windows from apple.com/icloud/setup/pc.html and sign in with your Apple ID. Then select Mail in the iCloud app. Then open your preferred email client and add your iCloud Mail account.
On an Android device: Download and install the Apple Music app from Google Play Store and sign in with your Apple ID. Then open your preferred email client and add your iCloud Mail account using IMAP settings.
iCloud Mail is a free and secure email service that works seamlessly with your Apple devices. It offers features like Mail Drop, VIP contacts, aliases, rules, junk mail, archive, Hide My Email, and more. It also lets you use a custom domain email address if you subscribe to iCloud+, which is part of Apple One or a separate subscription service.
If you are an Apple user who wants a free and secure email service that works well with your devices, you may want to consider iCloud Mail. You can set up iCloud Mail on any device by following the steps in this article. You can also customize your settings, such as notifications, signatures, filters, and more.
If you want to get more out of iCloud Mail, you may want to subscribe to iCloud+ or Apple One. You can get up to 200 GB of iCloud storage for your email and other data, plus features like Private Relay, Hide My Email, and HomeKit Secure Video support. You can also use a custom domain email address and share it with your family members.
To subscribe to iCloud+ or Apple One, go to Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch or System Preferences > Apple ID > Subscriptions on your Mac. You can choose from different plans and prices depending on your needs.
iCloud Mail is a great way to stay connected with your friends, family, and colleagues. It lets you send and receive email from a personalized email address that reflects your identity and style. It also protects your privacy and helps you manage your email.
So what are you waiting for? Try iCloud Mail today and see how it can make your life easier and more enjoyable. You won’t regret it!
