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I tried to remove the custom domain yesterday to reset an issue I'm having. The iCloud website warned me that all emails would be deleted but i'm struggling to see how that could happen given they are downloaded to my mac and also sitting in folders in the cloud.

Would they literally look for anything with my custom domain and delete it from my mail storage? Seems odd if they did.

BTW the problem is a calendar issue where I'm not receiving invites into one specific custom domain set up in 2021, but my newer domains are absolutely fine.

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  • Is this an X-Y problem - what is the issue you are trying to fix?
    – mmmmmm
    Commented Feb 15, 2023 at 10:27

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I can only guess at this, but are you really sure you want to actually delete this domain?

A mail domain needs a set of 'internet accessible' records, CNAME & MX records in order for your account to be found. Think of this as like a DNS pointer to a web site.
If you discard the domain, these records will be removed from the 'internet database' & will no longer exist. I doubt this will mean Apple will actively chase down any emails you have already archived locally - that would be unfeasible - but what will happen is that all ties between your existing mailbox & you will be destroyed. You won't be able to access these again later.

It would be sensible for any organisation running a structure for multiple independent users that after destroying an account to tidy up afterwards, not just removing the connections to it but deleting its contents too. There is the remote possibility they could archive this temporarily, but may not choose to; meaning this decision would be final.
I don't have great experience in this, though I have moved my own mail servers recently & this is the effective result - after the deletion of the old account [part of a handover in my own case] the old account is simply 'gone', inaccessible.

If Apple say the mail database will be deleted, believe them.

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  • Thank you @tetsujin - the MX records etc were originally taken from my hosting company and applied in iCloud custom domain setups, so i dont think they would be destroyed forever. I'd just need to reapply them surely? Or move them to another email provider. My concern was about the historic emails I'd received really
    – gypsymoth
    Commented Jan 16, 2023 at 9:51
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    The MX records are 'where to point to' mx.apple.com for instance. They're no good anywhere else. afaik, they rely on the SPF records to match one to the other, but we're now getting well above my paygrade on this type of thing. CNAME is governed by your domain host, which isn't necessarily the same company.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Jan 16, 2023 at 9:58

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