How Apple’s iCloud Private Relay keeps you safe

if you pay For iCloud storage, you automatically get additional perks bundled by Apple under the iCloud+ name—one of which is the iCloud Private Relay service.

If you open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, tap your name at the top, then select iCloud, you should be able to access Dedicated Relay (Beta) A toggle switch that you can turn on or off.it’s also below Apple ID and iCloud in System Preferences in macOS. However, there isn’t a ton of information next to the switch that tells you what it is and how it works.

That’s what we’re going to do here, with the help of a new document from Apple on the ins and outs of iCloud Private Relay. After reading this, you should know if this is the feature you need.

Keep your internet activity private

As you can see from the accompanying introduction, when you turn on the feature, iCloud Private Relay “keeps your internet activity private” — and it does it in a number of ways. One way is to hide your IP address from the websites you visit: your IP address indicates where in the world you are connected to the web, and it is one of the key pieces of information that websites and marketers use to determine who you are.

With iCloud Private Relay enabled, you have two choices when it comes to IP addresses. You can keep reporting your approximate location (more or less the closest city to you) – so that local data like weather forecasts still show up correctly – or you can be more obscure and only report sites where your country and time zone require it.

As extra prosperity, serve Encrypt your data When it leaves your device, it means no one can digitally eavesdrop on your communications. Many websites and apps already handle this by default, but if there are gaps, iCloud Private Relay fills them. This means that anything you type in your web browser, from searches to addresses, will not be snooped on.

Finally, iCloud Private Relay also keeps your DNS (Domain Name System) queries private—essentially the websites you look up on your device. Like IP addresses, this data can be used to create a profile of who you are and what interests you, which can then be sold to advertisers. With iCloud Private Relay enabled, it’s hard for companies to do that.

how it works

iCloud Private Relay deploys what Apple calls a “double-hop” architecture — two sites or relays between your device and the internet. Apple provides a one-stop shop, the IP address is visible, but the name of the website you visit is encrypted; the second station is operated by Apple’s “third-party partner” that knows the website you’re visiting but doesn’t know what your IP address is ( It is responsible for assigning you a new IP address).