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iCloud+ custom email domains should be better

domlaut.com

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Re: iCloud+ custom email domains should be better

#61

Post by joshgachnang »

silvestrov wrote: post #23
abestic9 wrote: post #19

I'm optimistic that Apple is working on most of these issues (especially catch-all) right now and this is just representative of their new offering. Like many things I've seen from Apple it will take a release cycle or two (of 1-2 years per cycle) to bring in this arguably basic functionality - as is tradition we'll groan about other issues being held back in favour of fancy new features. I have no doubt they intend…

I would fear that Apple forgets about the feature after a few years and then just drops it. This is not central to their business and Apple trims such things very agressively. I would always buy a domain-email from somebody who has this as their main business, and I would never couple my email to Apple which could lock me out of my account if they think I "behave suspiciously".

I'm trying to remember any services that Apple has trimmed, and can't seem to come up with any. I'm sure I'm just not remembering. Do you have examples?

Re: iCloud+ custom email domains should be better

#62

Post by domlaut »

mortenlarsen wrote: post #56
cube00 wrote: post #37

Catch-all addresses are a must have for me now. I allocate unique addresses to every website as these are more robust then using the + operator because they can't be stripped off. I've already busted one company (I presume selling) my email address to a cloud provider for them to send me marketing material. I emailed their privacy officer and didn't even get a reply, but that's OK, if it continues, one sieve rule and…

I use "-" instead of "+" with a regex: "/^name-.*@mydomain\.tld$/". Then I block them when I get spam after they get compromised. Many spammers already know to remove anything after the +-sign. But I must admit that the biggest benefit of this setup, was listening to my girlfriend on the the phone explaining to someone, at some company, the reason that their name was part of the email-address: "That is because if I g…

Clever! Are you running your own email server, or is there a provider/relay other than Google that can route based on regexes?

Re: iCloud+ custom email domains should be better

#63

Post by mortenlarsen »

domlaut wrote: post #62
mortenlarsen wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use "-" instead of "+" with a regex: "/^name-.*@mydomain\.tld$/". Then I block them when I get spam after they get compromised. Many spammers already know to remove anything after the +-sign. But I must admit that the biggest benefit of this setup, was listening to my girlfriend on the the phone explaining to someone, at some company, the reason that their name was part of the email-address: "That is because if I g…

Clever! Are you running your own email server, or is there a provider/relay other than Google that can route based on regexes?

My own server, since 2001. Regex part since about 2003. It has been very effective, and still is.

The most effective thing back in the day was blocking based on TCP fingerprint, as "Windows XP" was different from "Windows 2003" IIRC (with OpenBSD PF). After that, greylisting gave me a few SPAM-free years, before it became the norm (OpenBSD spamd). Many OpenBSD users had quite a few SPAM-free years back then.

Re: iCloud+ custom email domains should be better

#64

Post by domlaut »

slimeboty wrote: post #39
domlaut wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right -- this is something I missed mentioning. As of right now, it's still only the web-based iCloud Mail that makes use of DKIM. Using any other client/app will deliver your emails unsigned. Would you mind if I updated the article crediting you for the DKIM addendum?

Does the desktop mail app count as iCloud mail?

Unfortunately not, DKIM doesn't work on either Apple's desktop or iOS/iPadOS Mail.app (aka. Apple Mail). OTOH, at least they set the correct Return-Path unlike some others that leak your Apple ID through the header instead.

Re: iCloud+ custom email domains should be better

#66

Post by domlaut »

bredren wrote: post #34
miken123 wrote: post #6

I would say another main issue is that while they ask you to setup DKIM records, they do not actually DKIM-sign your emails. Hence your mails may be more easily flagged as spam. Several people have reported this to Apple, but AFAIK it still hasn’t been fixed.

This sounds bad, does it have practical implications? Have people switched to apple hosted custom domains for email and suffered deliverability problems?

I personally haven't noticed deliverability issues. It'd still be nice to have the messages signed without having to use the web-based iCloud Mail.

Re: iCloud+ custom email domains should be better

#67

Post by domlaut »

daniel_iversen wrote: post #55
woodson wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The claimed one-year period from deletion to when it becomes available for use as custom domain actually makes me think that it is on purpose. I just don’t understand what that purpose would be. I would think it was a bug if it just wouldn’t let you use an email currently or formerly used as another Apple ID, no matter how long ago.

Could it be that they're trying to make sure that any old online accounts on the old email address isn't able to be hijacked? In most tech workplaces when you leave, your email address is being put in a holding place and not reused - i.e. I never got daniel@ as an email address in any of my companies because there was always a Daniel before me, and once they leave they don't want me to reuse the address because I cou…

It's a reasonable policy for Apple-owned Apple IDs on their public domains (@icloud.com, @mac.com, @me.com), but I don't see how it makes sense for privately owned domains you're already in control of the DNS for. You could use any other mail provider or routing service and get access to any emails that way -- then do a password for any other service where the address used was on the domain you were in control of.

Re: iCloud+ custom email domains should be better

#69

Post by zacwest »

mortenlarsen wrote: post #56
cube00 wrote: post #37

Catch-all addresses are a must have for me now. I allocate unique addresses to every website as these are more robust then using the + operator because they can't be stripped off. I've already busted one company (I presume selling) my email address to a cloud provider for them to send me marketing material. I emailed their privacy officer and didn't even get a reply, but that's OK, if it continues, one sieve rule and…

I use "-" instead of "+" with a regex: "/^name-.*@mydomain\.tld$/". Then I block them when I get spam after they get compromised. Many spammers already know to remove anything after the +-sign. But I must admit that the biggest benefit of this setup, was listening to my girlfriend on the the phone explaining to someone, at some company, the reason that their name was part of the email-address: "That is because if I g…

I do something similar, it's been fun journey of issues over the years.

One company gave me a free version of their paid offering because my email address was me@them.my.domain, which triggered their "is an employee?" check. (I reported it to a friend who worked there, but they didn't prioritize fixing it. Lasted a while.)

Uber tried to make me change my email address because:

> As much as we appreciate your enthusiasm, and value you as a loyal rider, I do need to ask if you could, please, update your email to something that doesn't use "Uber" in it, as that's technically a trademark violation.

> I apologize for any inconvenience that may cause and thank you for your cooperation. If I can help further with making that change to your email, please let me know.

They backed down, but it was pretty amusing to get this email in response to a totally unrelated one.

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