Sign in with Apple
Shares rank 6 of 8 authentication services by recommenders
People recommend it as a low-friction login for sites, and its Hide My Email alias keeps real addresses private. Critics worry about account lock-out and that Apple controls the service.
People recommend it as a low-friction login for sites, and its Hide My Email alias keeps real addresses private. Critics worry about account lock-out and that Apple controls the service.
16 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 9
- approval share
- 44%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 0.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Random aliases hide real address
“allows me to use a random “Hide My Email” address for services that I can’t bother with so it’s absolutely a godsend for me”
Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “I tried building my startup entirely on European infrastructure” “you can choose to give a random alias that forwards to your email”
Comment from 8 Jun 2026 in “1k Data Breaches Later, the Disclosure Lag Is Worse” Protects privacy with random aliases
“allows me to use a random “Hide My Email” address for services that I can’t bother with so it’s absolutely a godsend for me”
Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “I tried building my startup entirely on European infrastructure” “you can choose to give a random alias that forwards to your email”
Comment from 8 Jun 2026 in “1k Data Breaches Later, the Disclosure Lag Is Worse” “the method which HELPS users maintain their privacy”
Comment from 12 Mar 2026 in “Claude now creates interactive charts, diagrams and visualizations”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Account lock-out risk
“they lose access to everything because their Google/Apple account got blocked for some obscure violation of ToS”
Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “I tried building my startup entirely on European infrastructure” “I fear apple deciding they don't like me for whatever reason and then I am fucked.”
Comment from 14 Oct 2026 in “Passkeys are not a trap” Apple holds control over users
“Apple is perfectly fine with taking control of your privacy if they're the ones in control”
Comment from 12 Oct 2026 in “Passkeys are a trap” “I fear apple deciding they don't like me for whatever reason and then I am fucked.”
Comment from 14 Oct 2026 in “Passkeys are not a trap” Poor experience and support
“Apple, especially using sign in with Apple, is horrid.”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “Apple is about to make Hide My Email useless” “Apple isn't very nice about giving names”
Comment from 15 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)”
Other authentication services people recommend
The four most recommended other authentication services, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Better Auth | 46 | 8 | 85% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| Ory Hydra | 22 | 2 | 92% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Clerk | 19 | 16 | 54% | 7 | — | — |
| AWS Cognito | 18 | 34 | 35% | 6 | — | — |
| Sign in with AppleThis page | 7 | 9 | 44% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
All 16 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I fear apple deciding they don't like me for whatever reason and then I am fucked.”
“Apple is perfectly fine with taking control of your privacy if they're the ones in control”
“It's breaking "login with Apple".”
“Apple isn't very nice about giving names”
“I wish I could set up "Sign in with Apple" on a blog without paying $99/yr for a developer license.”
“Adding "sign in with google" and "sign in with apple" gives you auth with the least amount of friction”
“not more secure than "login with Apple" or "login with Google"”
“the represented population is small enough that sites relying on it would exclude a huge number of people”
“Apple, especially using sign in with Apple, is horrid.”
“you can choose to give a random alias that forwards to your email”
“Majority of apps are B2C apps, they don't need any of this.”
“I always resent them for making me lie, because although my devices ARE nearby (ish), my phone is always, like RIGHT THERE.”
“the method which HELPS users maintain their privacy”
“allows me to use a random “Hide My Email” address for services that I can’t bother with so it’s absolutely a godsend for me”
“they lose access to everything because their Google/Apple account got blocked for some obscure violation of ToS”
“Not too keen on passkeys without an easy way to backup.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.