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Let's say you have the account johndoe@icloud.com. You use that email as your backup email at your bank. You cancel the account. Now someone else opens a new icloud account with johndoe@icloud.com. They can now access your account by "recovering" your password with the backup email.

But the GP is saying they registered their apple id with a non apple email. Why can't your delete the apple id associated with that email, then create another apple id using the same email?

> I still don't get it. You cancel the account, it should be gone like it never happened

As long as that change cascades to every single site that the user could have registered with.

Otherwise, there could be hundreds or thousands of sites waiting to email confidential information to a new person.

this already happens when you move physically to a new residence. except there isn't a system for "change of email address"

Idiots -- like yahoo -- recycle emails.

Also, emails probably persist in some systems as a guid.