[Udons]

Please excuse the dog chasing its own tail, but the more thought I put into this, the more circling I feel coming on.

I have 4 email accounts which I use in total

1) Personal Email (gmail): Talking with friends/family

2) Business Email (company): Dealing with work only

3) General Email (gmail): New accounts, trusted website/app sign-ups

4) Disposable Email (yahoo): Junk, need email to access something

The problem I'm having, is with regard to creating an Apple ID and which of the above email accounts to pick from when signing up (or whether to create a 5th email account solely for Apple ID).

If an Apple ID sign-up was the same as signing up for an account on the Starbucks website (email and passcode), no issue. It's used to sign into the website, make purchases, etc. I would use the General Email if that were the case.

However, if I chose the General Email for my Apple ID, it means that by default, when I use Mail, iMessage, Facetime, etc - I'm not using the email address I associate with talking to friends/family. Not what I want at all. But if I use the Personal Email for my Apple ID, I'm then forced to use my Personal Email for commercial activities (purchases, sign-ups when getting new apps, etc) - also not what I want.

The only way I see to rectify this bleed-over is to use one account for Personal and General - so everything goes to one account. Problem being, it's a matter of time before the spam begins building up.

Even if I make a new email account to be solely used for Apple ID (can easily be Gmail or iCloud), there's no way to keep the classification as that, as once it's your Apple ID, it will be your default Mail, iMessage, etc email account.

Is there an easy method to this madness that I'm missing or no?

[Annie_M]

Hi there! I have a similar email setup and I chose to my personal email (friends snd family) for my Apple ID. I can assure you that I have never received any kind of spam on that account since using it for my Apple ID.

I hope this helps!

[Udons]

Hi there! I have a similar email setup and I chose to my personal email (friends snd family) for my Apple ID. I can assure you that I have never received any kind of spam on that account since using it for my Apple ID.

I hope this helps!

Thanks for your help, Annie. If I may ask, did you choose an iCloud email or a different one (gmail, yahoo, etc) for your Apple ID's email? I've read that there's some trade-offs between using an iCloud email (more integrated/less reliable) vs. Gmail (for example), which has the opposite problem.

[Ledsteplin]

I use a separate email for all things Apple. It's worked great for me. If I get spam email claiming to be Apple, it goes to a different email. And I know immediately it's not Apple. It's not my default email. You can set which email you want for default in Settings. You can use any email address you want for iMessage.

[Annie_M]

Thanks for your help, Annie. If I may ask, did you choose an iCloud email or a different one (gmail, yahoo, etc) for your Apple ID's email? I've read that there's some trade-offs between using an iCloud email (more integrated/less reliable) vs. Gmail (for example), which has the opposite problem.

I used my gmail account. I have a couple of yahoo accounts for a variety of forum type emails and shopping. I also have a hotmail account.

[Udons]

I use a separate email for all things Apple. It's worked great for me. If I get spam email claiming to be Apple, it goes to a different email. And I know immediately it's not Apple. It's not my default email. You can set which email you want for default in Settings. You can use any email address you want for iMessage.

I have no issue with simply creating an email address that's only for Apple ID - an @iCloud.com address, for example. I know I can add as many email addresses as I want in the Mail app - so I can add in my personal email for friends/family.

But as for iMessage, when you are signed in with your Apple ID email, will it let you add other email addresses/accounts or only 1 at a time? Because then I'm in no better position than now. Same with Facetime - can you log in with Apple ID email, but then add other email accounts to chat/talk?

[Ledsteplin]

I have no issue with simply creating an email address that's only for Apple ID - an @iCloud.com address, for example. I know I can add as many email addresses as I want in the Mail app - so I can add in my personal email for friends/family.

But as for iMessage, when you are signed in with your Apple ID email, will it let you add other email addresses/accounts or only 1 at a time? Because then I'm in no better position than now. Same with Facetime - can you log in with Apple ID email, but then add other email accounts to chat/talk?

You can use whichever ones are checked in "send and receive". Settings> Facetime > send and receive.
Add in the address you want to use, and check it.
Same for messages.