How to Select Email for New iMessage Conversations on Mac
If you start with new iMessage conversations from a Mac, should your phone number be hidden? For privacy reasons, a lot many people want to do this.
You’ll be glad to know that this can easily be done on your Mac.
On Macs, iMessage is likely to use your phone number instead of your Apple ID email address by default if you set it up first on your iPhone. Some users don’t feel comfortable giving out their personal phone numbers to random people.
Those concerned about privacy can switch to using their email addresses instead of their phone numbers for new iMessage conversations.
iMessage can be used with an email address instead of a phone number in MacOS, so let’s have a look.
How to Select Email for New iMessage Conversations on Mac?
If you are using iMessage on your Mac, regardless of what macOS version it’s running, you can use this method to change your default setting when you start a new conversation.
You need to do the following:
- Messages can be opened directly from the Dock on your Mac.
- Click on Messages from the menu bar, as shown in the screenshot below, if Messages is the active window on your desktop.
- Click on “Preferences” from the dropdown menu to proceed.
- The General Preferences panel will open in a new window. From the top menu, select the iMessage section.
- The “Start new conversations from” setting is right at the bottom. You can click it if your phone number is set.
Now you can view the email addresses you can use. Find the one you prefer and click it.
You can choose whether new iMessage conversations are sent to your phone number or your email address by changing the settings
This is pretty much the end of your work. Here’s how to keep your phone number hidden, as you can see.
The recipient might be confused by an iMessage conversation that doesn’t come from the phone number or Apple ID they expected.
Follow these steps to make sure your phone number or email address is correct for new conversations.
Apple’s iOS and macOS have had this setting for years, but it might not be set up correctly by default. You’ll need to make sure all of your devices are configured correctly if you wish to use your email address when starting a new iMessage conversation.
You risk fragmentation at the receiving end if they’re not, as multiple people may be using two different email addresses or numbers to contact the same person.
Although things are undoubtedly better now than they were just a couple of years ago, nothing is perfect.
Apple has tried to avoid this confusion with multiple updates.
Make sure your devices are on the same page by using the same number or email address when starting iMessage conversations.
How to change the number or e-mail addresses where new conversations start?
Here is how we can change the number or email addresses:
- You can open the Messages app and select “Messages” from the Menu Bar, then “Preferences.”
- View options associated with the messaging service by clicking the “iMessage” tab.
- Choose the number or email address you wish to use from the drop-down box beneath “Start new conversations from”.
To avoid any confusion for the recipient, make sure your new iMessage conversations are sent using the correct number or email address.
You may also want to check this setting if you’ve ever had a conversation with the same person multiple times.
You can change where new conversations begin on iPhone and iPad by changing the number or email address
- Tap “Messages” in the Settings menu.
- After that, tap “Send & Receive.”
- There are several options for starting a new iMessage conversation below “Start new conversations from.”
- You’ll probably see your phone number and at least one email address, beginning with your Apple ID.
- Tap the one you wish to use for new conversations.
How to Use Email Address for iMessage Instead of a Phone Number, via iPhone or iPad?
The first step is to set the iMessage to use your Apple ID which will then unlock the email addresses associated with your Apple account.
- Click on ‘Settings’ option from the iPhone home screen.
- Go to your iMessage configuration to view the message configuration.
- Next, click on ‘Send & receive’ option to find the email addresses. This option would only work if there is more than one iMessage address.
- There are two options in the Settings. One- “Start New Conversations From” if you want to make sure that people you text don’t get your phone number and other one is- “You Can Receive iMessages To And Reply From”, if you to make your iMessage unreachable.
- Once you tap on the phone number, a pop-up will appear asking to remove the phone number. Click OK to continue.
Using the above steps, you can continue using the iMessage using your email address only.
FAQ
Q: How do you change who your Messages are on Mac?
Ans: You can manage your iMessage account settings in the settings pane of the Messages app on your Mac. Change these preferences by selecting Messages > Preferences, then clicking iMessage. Enter your Apple ID and password if you’re not already signed in to iMessage.
Q. Can I email an iMessage conversation?
Ans: You can send a conversation to email by opening your messaging app. Tap and hold the conversation until you see the options menu. Select Share. Fill in the recipient’s information in your email app and tap Send.
Q. How do you add an email address to iMessage on Mac?
Ans: Select Messages > Preferences, then click iMessage. The following options are available:
Select Enable Messages in iCloud to store your messages in the cloud. …
If you need to be contacted, you can be reached at List the email addresses and phone numbers you wish to be contacted at.
Conclusion
Be aware that people who already know your phone number will continue seeing it when you text them.
The changes will only affect new conversations initiated on your Mac.
If you have an iCloud email address associated with your Apple ID, this particular setting will work best since it can be used to hide your personal email address as well.
Furthermore, you can disable your phone number in the same menu if you wish. Including those from your existing contacts will stop any more incoming messages to your phone number.
What was your reason for using this feature? Could you create a second iMessage account and switch between them if you use iMessage for work as well?
We’d love to hear your experiences and opinions down in the comments section.
