Fell Into the Apple Hide My Email Trap for AWS Skill Builder? Here’s How to Get Unstuck

You do not realize you are in the Hide My Email trap until AWS Skill Builder says an account already exists for a private relay address you never see. Then you open a profile merge request and wait.

If you created an AWS Builder ID with Apple’s Hide My Email, the account email looks like `<private@privaterelay.appleid.com>`. It forwards to your Apple ID inbox until you disable it. That forwarding is not the problem. The problem is identity and merge friction: AWS sees two separate accounts—one under the private relay address and one under your real email—and will not merge them automatically.

Why this happens

AWS Builder ID uses email as the primary identifier. When you choose Sign in with Apple, Apple can hide your real email and supply a unique relay address. That address is real enough to create an account, receive verification codes, and enroll in Skill Builder. Later, if you sign in with your actual email or a different provider, you create a second profile. AWS Training and Certification treats that as a duplicate learner, not the same person.

Apple’s Hide My Email addresses are not permanent identities. You can turn them off, lose track of them, or leave them inactive. If AWS needs to verify ownership during a merge, an inactive relay address slows the process. Apple’s support page for [Use Hide My Email](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-hide-my-email-iphf352ea0d0/ios) makes the disposable nature clear, even though the address itself keeps forwarding while active.

How to get unstuck

1. Confirm the relay address is still active

On iPhone or Mac, go to Settings > your name > iCloud > Hide My Email, or System Settings > Apple ID > Hide My Email. Find the AWS Skill Builder entry. Do not deactivate it. If it is inactive, reactivate it before contacting AWS.

2. Find the original AWS confirmation email

Search your Apple ID inbox for `AWS Skill Builder` or `AWS Builder ID`. The private relay address is in the To field. That is the account email AWS sees. Keep that email available for the support case.

3. Do not create a third account

Every new login creates another profile. If you already have a personal email account and a Hide My Email account, stop. Use the account you can still access and open a merge request.

4. Submit a profile merge request to AWS Training and Certification

Go to the AWS Training and Certification support page, choose Account or Payment, and request a profile merge. Provide both account emails. If possible, include the email header or confirmation that shows the private relay address belongs to you.

AWS may take several business days. Some users report waiting a week or more for Skill Builder profile merges, especially when one account uses a private relay address. While you wait, check the case daily and keep the relay address active.

5. Escalate through AWS Support if the merge stalls

If the merge has not moved after five business days, reply to the case and ask for escalation. Include a clear timeline, both account emails, and screenshots of the Hide My Email entry. Calm, structured evidence moves faster than anger.

A better path for developer learning accounts

Use a real, stable email address for AWS Builder ID. If you want privacy, use an email alias you control, not a platform-managed relay that can disappear. Apple Hide My Email is excellent for newsletters and one-time signups. It is a poor primary identity for certifications, learning history, and employer-linked training profiles. The [AWS Skill Builder](https://aws.amazon.com/training/digital/skill-builder/) experience is built around a single profile for learning analytics and exam preparation; duplicate profiles only fragment that history.

Bottom line

You are not locked out forever. The fix is a manual profile merge from AWS Training and Certification. The trap is not Apple’s fault alone—it is the collision between a private relay identity and an email-based account system that assumes one human, one address. Keep the relay address alive, gather proof, submit the merge, and wait.