Best practices

I’m using Sign in with Apple in my iOS app.

When a user chooses “Hide My Email”, I receive the @privaterelay.appleid.com relay address. For marketing reasons, I would prefer to have the user’s real email address instead of the relay email.

I want to stay compliant with App Store Review and the Sign in with Apple design/UX requirements.

My questions are:

  1. Is it allowed to force the user (as part of the registration process) to provide their real email address, even if they chose “Hide My Email” during Sign in with Apple?

  2. Are there any specific App Store Review guidelines that forbid:

    • Blocking sign up or access to features if the user keeps the relay email, or

    • Showing a strong prompt like “We can’t log you in unless you share your real email”?

  3. What is the recommended, compliant pattern for collecting a “real” email when using Sign in with Apple + Private Relay?

I’d appreciate any official clarification or examples of what App Review considers acceptable vs. reject-worthy here.

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3 Replies 3

Paulw11
•

If I wanted you to have my real email address, I wouldn't have used hide my email. Even if you ask me for it, you aren't getting it

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Snow
•

From the official Apple developer guidelines - https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/sign-in-with-apple

Avoid asking for a personal email address when people supply a private relay address. Using Sign in with Apple, people can choose to share a private relay address that automatically forwards messages to their verified personal email account. It’s essential to respect this choice and avoid overriding it by asking for a personal email address. If you present customer service, retail, or other experiences that request identification via email address, you can:

  • Make sure that people can view their private relay address in your app or website

  • Direct people to Settings > Apple Account > Password & Security > Apps using Apple Account to retrieve their private relay address

  • Use other identifying values, like an order number or phone number collected as part of a purchase

Personally speaking, I'd much rather hide my real email address from stores because I don't know how my email address will be used going forward (despite promises) and I have no idea whether my email address will be leaked or stolen by hackers.

Not allowing people to obscure their personal email addresses may result in you having less users engage with your platform.

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Paulw11
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Specifically, in clause 4.8 it says "the login service allows users to keep their email address private as part of setting up their account" also 5.1.1 (x) "Apps may request basic contact information (such as name and email address) so long as the request is optional for the user, features and services are not conditional on providing the information"

Your proposal really goes against Apple's ethos and the intent behind hide my email, so even if your app isn't rejected by app review (which I suspect it would be) it would probably be rejected by users.

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