{"id":111723,"date":"2026-10-30T11:06:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T11:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/glossary\/icloud-mail\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T11:06:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T11:06:40","slug":"icloud-mail","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/en\/glossary\/icloud-mail\/","title":{"rendered":"iCloud Mail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

iCloud Mail is Apple’s free email service: an @icloud.com address you read in the Mail app on your iPhone, iPad or Mac, or in a browser at icloud.com.<\/p>\n\n

Here’s how to sign in, how to create your address, the settings for using it in other apps and what limits it has.<\/p>\n\n

What is iCloud Mail?<\/h2>\n\n

It’s the email<\/a> that comes with your Apple Account. Addresses end in @icloud.com, although the older @me.com and @mac.com addresses still work.<\/p>\n\n

It’s integrated with your Apple devices, but you don’t need them to use it. From any browser, including on Windows or Android, it works as a webmail<\/a> service.<\/p>\n\n

Don’t confuse iCloud Mail with Apple’s Mail app. The app is an email client<\/a> where you can read iCloud, Gmail<\/a> or Outlook<\/a> accounts.<\/p>\n\n

How do you sign in to iCloud Mail?<\/h2>\n\n

On an iPhone, iPad or Mac, just open the Mail app if iCloud Mail is turned on in your settings. From a browser:<\/p>\n\n

    \n
  1. Go to icloud.com\/mail.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Sign in with your Apple Account (formerly Apple ID).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Confirm the verification code on one of your devices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. You’ll land in your inbox<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n
    \"How<\/figure>\n\n

    In the browser you also have the settings: rules, signature, automatic reply and forwarding<\/a> to another address.<\/p>\n\n

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    Do you email your customers from iCloud Mail?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With Mailrelay you send your newsletters to your whole list, without the 1,000-emails-a-day cap, with statistics and automatic unsubscribes. Free account with up to 80,000 emails a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Create a free account<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

    How do you create an @icloud.com address?<\/h2>\n\n

    On your iPhone, go to Settings, tap your name, go to iCloud and turn on iCloud Mail. Apple will ask you to choose the name of your new address.<\/p>\n\n

    Think carefully about that email address<\/a>: the primary one can’t be changed later. What you can do is create up to three @icloud.com aliases, 3 to 20 characters long, that arrive in the same mailbox.<\/p>\n\n

    iCloud Mail IMAP and SMTP settings<\/h2>\n\n

    To read iCloud Mail in another app, use Apple’s official settings. iCloud Mail doesn’t support POP, only IMAP<\/a> and SMTP<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

    Setting<\/th>Incoming (IMAP)<\/th>Outgoing (SMTP)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    Server<\/td>imap.mail.me.com<\/td>smtp.mail.me.com<\/td><\/tr>
    Port<\/td>993<\/td>587<\/td><\/tr>
    Encryption<\/td>SSL (or TLS if you get an error)<\/td>SSL\/TLS or STARTTLS<\/td><\/tr>
    Username<\/td>The part before the @ (or the full address)<\/td>The full address<\/td><\/tr>
    Password<\/td>An app-specific password<\/td>The same one<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

    The password isn’t your Apple Account password. You need an app-specific password<\/strong>, which you generate on your Apple Account website with two-factor authentication turned on.<\/p>\n\n

    How much storage does it have and how many emails can you send?<\/h2>\n\n

    Email uses your iCloud storage: 5 GB free<\/strong>, shared with photos, backups and iCloud Drive. If it fills up, you can’t send or receive. To get more, you need to subscribe to iCloud+.<\/p>\n\n

    Each message can be up to 20 MB. With Mail Drop, large attachments<\/a> are uploaded to iCloud and you can send up to 5 GB.<\/p>\n\n

    And there’s a sending cap: 1,000 messages a day, 1,000 recipients a day and 500 recipients per message.<\/p>\n\n

    Hide My Email and custom domain<\/h2>\n\n

    With an iCloud+ subscription you get two more features.<\/p>\n\n

    Hide My Email<\/strong> creates random addresses that forward to your mailbox. They’re useful for signing up on websites without giving your real address, similar to a temporary email<\/a> but permanent.<\/p>\n\n

    Custom Email Domain<\/strong> lets you use iCloud Mail with your own domain: up to five domains and ten addresses per domain. It isn’t available in every country.<\/p>\n\n

    iCloud Mail, Gmail or Outlook?<\/h2>\n\n

    All three are free. What changes is the ecosystem you already use.<\/p>\n\n

    If you\u2026<\/th>Best choice<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    Use an iPhone, iPad and Mac<\/td>iCloud Mail<\/td><\/tr>
    Use Android or Google services<\/td>Gmail<\/td><\/tr>
    Work with Word, Excel and Teams<\/td>Outlook<\/td><\/tr>
    Want more storage without paying<\/td>Gmail or Outlook (15 GB vs. 5 GB)<\/td><\/tr>
    Need email for your company<\/td>A corporate email<\/a> service like Google Workspace<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

    Can you use iCloud Mail to send newsletters?<\/h2>\n\n

    It’s not a good idea. With 1,000 messages a day and 500 recipients per send, any medium-sized list falls short. You also don’t get statistics or automatic unsubscribes, and if you CC everyone, each contact sees everyone else’s addresses.<\/p>\n\n

    \"Sending<\/figure>\n\n

    If you send newsletters, subscribers who read in Apple’s Mail app affect you in a different way. Since 2021, its privacy protection downloads images in advance, so many opens aren’t real. Look at CTR<\/a> rather than open rate<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

    For sending to your whole list, there are bulk email<\/a> tools, which respect each provider’s sending limits<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

    How Mailrelay helps you<\/h2>\n\n

    With Mailrelay you send your newsletters to your whole list with your own address and an authenticated sending domain<\/a>, without the daily cap of a personal email account.<\/p>\n\n

    The free account<\/a> includes up to 80,000 emails a month and 20,000 contacts.<\/p>\n\n

    You get a visual editor, automations, open and click statistics and automatic handling of unsubscribes and bounces, with human support on every plan. Details on our pricing<\/a> page.<\/p>\n\n

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    From Apple’s email to an email marketing tool<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Templates, automations and statistics, with human support on every plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    Try Mailrelay for free<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

    iCloud Mail FAQ<\/h2>\n\n

    These are the most common questions.<\/p>\n\n

    Is iCloud Mail free?<\/h3>\n\n

    Yes. It comes with your Apple Account and includes 5 GB of shared storage. You only pay if you want more storage or the iCloud+ features.<\/p>\n\n

    Can I use iCloud Mail on Android or Windows?<\/h3>\n\n

    Yes. From a browser, at icloud.com\/mail, or in the email app you use, with the IMAP and SMTP settings and an app-specific password.<\/p>\n\n

    Can you change your @icloud.com address?<\/h3>\n\n

    Not the primary one. You can create up to three @icloud.com aliases that arrive in the same mailbox.<\/p>\n\n

    Does iCloud Mail support POP?<\/h3>\n\n

    No. It only works with IMAP for receiving and SMTP for sending.<\/p>\n\n

    How many emails can I send per day with iCloud Mail?<\/h3>\n\n

    Up to 1,000 messages a day, to a maximum of 1,000 recipients a day and 500 per message.<\/p>\n\n

    Related posts<\/h2>\n\n