By Manish, who makes LocalInbox · Facts checked November 2026
Apple's app for iCloud Mail on a Mac is Mail, which comes with macOS: turn on Mail in iCloud settings and your iCloud mailboxes appear there. LocalInbox is another native Mac app for iCloud Mail. It connects with an app-specific password, puts iCloud beside Gmail, Yahoo and any IMAP account, and adds a To Reply mailbox, Ask your mailbox with sources and search inside attachments, with its AI on your Mac by default. You can use both apps with the same account.
iCloud Mail on a Mac today
Apple's guide sets iCloud Mail up in the Mail app: turn on Mail in iCloud settings on your Mac and the iCloud mailboxes show in Mail's sidebar. On the web it's at icloud.com/mail. On Macs with Apple Intelligence, Mail summarises messages on the device.
Other mail apps connect with the IMAP and SMTP settings Apple publishes, imap.mail.me.com and smtp.mail.me.com, and an app-specific password made in your Apple Account. That's how LocalInbox connects.
How LocalInbox works with iCloud Mail
- It connects with an app-specific password, which looks like abcd-efgh-ijkl-mnop. icloud.com, me.com and mac.com addresses all work.
- Search on Server, at the end of your search results, asks iCloud for matches this Mac hasn't downloaded.
- Your signatures, templates, rules and categories follow you to your other Macs through iCloud. Mail and passwords stay on each Mac.
- It uses the same on-device model as Apple Mail, and adds a To Reply mailbox, Ask your mailbox with cited sources, phishing warnings that explain why, and search inside image and PDF attachments.
- The password is kept in the macOS Keychain and sent only to the mail server.
What LocalInbox adds
What every account gets in LocalInbox, iCloud Mail included:
- Unified inbox: One inbox for Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, Fastmail, Zoho, GMX, AOL, Proton Mail Bridge and any IMAP account, each with its own colour. Native and fast.
- On-device AI: LocalInbox summarises, sorts and drafts your email with Apple's on-device model. No AI cloud unless you add your own key, and no LocalInbox server.
- Ask your mailbox: Ask a question in plain words and LocalInbox answers from your own mail, with numbered sources you can open. It runs on your Mac by default.
- To Reply and smart sorting: LocalInbox sorts mail into Primary, Updates, Promotions and your own categories, and keeps a To Reply mailbox of mail waiting on you.
- Today and the Morning brief: Today lists what needs a reply, what you're waiting on, meetings, deadlines, parcels and trips. The Morning brief sums up important mail, on your Mac.
- Waiting On and Nudge: Waiting On lists mail you sent that hasn't had an answer after three days. Nudge writes a polite follow-up for you to edit and send.
- Phishing warnings: LocalInbox flags suspected phishing and says why: a look-alike address, failed SPF, DKIM or DMARC, a misleading link, or pressure to sign in or pay.
- Search inside attachments: LocalInbox reads the text in scanned PDFs and photos on your Mac, so a receipt or a boarding pass turns up in search.
- Undo Send, Send Later and snooze: Undo Send for up to 30 seconds, Send Later, snooze, and remind me if no reply, for every account. They work even when LocalInbox is closed.
Set up iCloud Mail in LocalInbox
- In LocalInbox, open Settings › Accounts and click Add Account (or use the welcome screen the first time).
- Choose iCloud Mail and enter your iCloud address.
- Click Open Apple Account and sign in. Open Sign-In and Security.
- Under App-Specific Passwords, create one named LocalInbox.
- Paste it into LocalInbox and click Add.
Server settings and what to do if it doesn't connect: iCloud Mail IMAP and SMTP settings and app-specific password.
Sources
Facts about iCloud Mail's own apps were checked in November 2026 and can change. Facts about LocalInbox come from its own documentation.
Questions
Isn't Apple Mail the iCloud Mail app?
Yes: Mail comes with macOS, is free, and is where Apple sets up iCloud Mail on a Mac. LocalInbox is for people who want more than it does, and both can use the same iCloud account at once, so you can try LocalInbox without leaving Mail.
Does LocalInbox keep my mail in iCloud?
Your mail stays in iCloud Mail, where it is now, and on your Mac. Only LocalInbox's own settings (signatures, templates, rules and categories) sync between your Macs through iCloud.
Why an app-specific password?
Apple asks apps other than its own to sign in to iCloud Mail with one. You make it in your Apple Account under Sign-In and Security; it needs two-factor authentication, which most Apple Accounts have.
Can I keep using iCloud Mail on the web too?
Yes. LocalInbox works over IMAP, so folders, read state and sent mail stay in step between the app and iCloud Mail on the web, and you can use both.
What does LocalInbox cost?
It's free for 7 days with every feature, with no sign-up or card. Then it's $29.99 once, for up to three devices (Mac, iPhone or iPad), with every 1.x update. There's no subscription.
Is there a LocalInbox app for iCloud Mail on iPhone?
Yes: LocalInbox for iPhone and iPad, with the same licence as the Mac. iCloud Mail works there the same way, with Apple Intelligence on the device. Once it's in LocalInbox on your Mac, Set Up iPhone… copies it over with a QR code, password included: https://localinbox.app/iphone/icloud