iOS 18.1 Includes Option to Set 'Primary' Email Address and Change iCloud Email

In iOS 18.1, there is a new option to set a "Primary" email address in the Settings app, which means it is easier to change the main email address associated with your Apple Account. The Primary email address is the one that is visible to other people when collaborating on and sharing documents, sending calendar invites, and more.

ios 18 1 make primary
Apple did not previously make it easy to change an Apple Account (or Apple ID) email address, despite the fact that it is sometimes visible to other people. To change an Apple Account email before, you had to delete the email you were using, choose another, and go through a verification process.

You can now change the email address and continue to use the prior email for login purposes right alongside the new primary. This setting also comes with an option to change an iCloud.com or me.com email address, so if you have an address you're not fond of, it can finally be swapped to something else.

Prior to iOS 18.1, Apple did not allow users to delete, change, or turn off a primary iCloud Mail address. You could set an alias and use that instead, but the primary email would still sometimes be visible to others. For those who have an embarrassing ‌iCloud‌ email address, there's now an option to change it entirely rather than relying on an alias.

(Thanks, Converseallstar95!)

Related Roundups: iOS 18, iPadOS 18
Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

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Top Rated Comments

kevpnw Avatar
10 months ago
One step closing to merging accounts?
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
soapropos Avatar
10 months ago
being able to change iCloud address is huge. I think I panic picked mine back when they iCloud first came out and have hated it ever since
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kagharaht Avatar
10 months ago
i wonder if Apple will get rid of @mac.com address. Mine is perfect since I got on that soon as it was available. Beta testing itools and MobileMe days was fun back then.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
211 Avatar
10 months ago
I created my Apple Account way back when only a username was needed, not even an email address, with AOL. Later, I had to create another Apple Account as Apple no longer recognizes non-email addresses for iCloud, etc. So all my iTunes purchases are in my username-only Apple Account and everything else is in my email Apple Account. It’s such a mess.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cjsuk Avatar
10 months ago
Ok now this is actually good.

Hopefully it’ll work with my custom domain and I can lose the @icloud.com completely. That is by far my favourite feature of iCloud and it really would tie everything up neatly.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aaronp613 Avatar
10 months ago

How can we see this option if we're on iOS 18.1? I've been searching Settings for "Email & Phone Numbers" and don't see anything.
Go to "Sign-In & Security" under your name in settings
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)