Updated · Volt Ghost team
MX records for Apple's mail domains
Checked through Cloudflare's DNS-over-HTTPS resolver on 29 October 2026:
| Domain | Priority | MX hosts |
|---|---|---|
icloud.com | 10 (both) | mx01.mail.icloud.com, mx02.mail.icloud.com |
me.com | 10 (both) | mx01.mail.icloud.com, mx02.mail.icloud.com |
mac.com | 10 (both) | mx01.mail.icloud.com, mx02.mail.icloud.com |
Apple keeps it to two names sharing one priority, and mx01 alone resolved to six IPv4 addresses, so there is more capacity behind the pair than the short list suggests. Addresses from Apple's older MobileMe (me.com) and .Mac (mac.com) services point at the same iCloud servers. That's different from Yahoo, where aol.com keeps its own MX host name (see the Yahoo MX records).
SPF, DMARC and the missing MTA-STS
| Record | Value for icloud.com (me.com and mac.com match) |
|---|---|
| SPF | v=spf1 redirect=_spf.icloud.com |
| DMARC | v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; sp=quarantine, with aggregate and failure reports sent to an Agari address |
| MTA-STS / TLS-RPT | none published |
| BIMI | v=BIMI1; l=; a=; on icloud.com (an empty record: no logo is offered) |
iCloud's DMARC sits between Gmail's monitor-only p=none and Yahoo's p=reject: mail that fakes an @icloud.com sender and fails authentication should go to spam rather than being refused outright. It is also the only one of the four big free providers we checked without an MTA-STS policy, which means a sending server has no published instruction to insist on verified TLS when delivering to iCloud. Most mail is encrypted in transit anyway; MTA-STS just removes the option of silently falling back.
Custom domains on iCloud+
iCloud+ subscribers can use their own domain for iCloud Mail, and Apple shows the exact DNS records to add during setup in iCloud settings. The receiving side uses the same mx01 and mx02.mail.icloud.com hosts listed above, so a business or family domain pointed at them will show up in our email host lookup as iCloud Mail. Use the MX lookup to confirm the records went live after you change them.
iCloud addresses and privacy
If you use Apple's Hide My Email, those random @icloud.com addresses arrive on these same servers and are forwarded to your inbox, which makes them a permanent alias rather than a throwaway. Our guide to temp mail vs an email alias explains when each fits. For a sign-up you never want to hear from again, a free temp mail inbox is simpler: nothing to turn off later, and it deletes itself.
Questions
What is the MX record for icloud.com?
Two records at the same priority: mx01.mail.icloud.com and mx02.mail.icloud.com, both at priority 10.
Do me.com and mac.com use different servers?
No. Both list mx01 and mx02.mail.icloud.com at priority 10, the same as icloud.com, and share its SPF and DMARC settings.
Does iCloud publish MTA-STS?
Not for these domains when we checked on 29 October 2026: there was no _mta-sts or _smtp._tls record for icloud.com, me.com or mac.com.
Are Hide My Email addresses on these servers?
Apple's Hide My Email relay addresses end in @icloud.com, so mail to them arrives at the same MX hosts before Apple forwards it to your real inbox.