Using iCloud+ Private Relay gives you the ability to browse more securely using Safari. Here’s how it works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
iCloud+ Private Relay is a feature built into your iCloud+ subscription designed to enhance your Safari browsing privacy. Unlike other security tools, Private Relay not only encrypts your web traffic, but also “slices” it so that no one entity (including your network provider and Apple itself) can simultaneously trace your identity and your online activity.
Specifically, as stated on Apple’s website, ” private relay encrypts unencrypted traffic leaving your device, as well as queries to Domain Name Server (DNS), the system that translates website names into Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, providing additional privacy protection .”
In this article we want to shed some light on this service by explaining in more detail what iCloud+ Private Relay is and how it works .
iCloud+ Private Relay: Requirements
Since Private Relay is a service that is offered to those who have an active iCloud+ subscription and, to use it, you need to have a subscription to the latter, as well as an Apple device, such as an iPhone , an iPad or a Mac .
At the time of writing this article, the iCloud+ subscription is available in the following amounts:
- 50 GB: provides 50 GB of iCloud storage space. It is suitable for those who want to have the storage necessary to store thousands of photos, videos and files. It costs 0.99 euros/month .
- 200 GB: this is the plan designed for those who have large libraries of content or want to share it with their family and costs €2.99/month .
- 2 TB: costs €9.99/month and is designed for those who have greater needs for cloud storage space.
- 6 TB and 12 TB: these two sizes, designed for those who need even more space, cost 29.99 euros/month and 59.99 euros/month respectively .
For the record, those who have an iCloud+ subscription, in addition to the increased storage space on iCloud (only 5 GB is available for free) and the Private Relay service, can also take advantage of the Hide My Email, Custom Email Domain and HomeKit secure video services.
iCloud+ Private Relay: How It Works
Let’s now see how iCloud+ Private Relay works from both a technical and practical point of view.
Technically speaking, with Private Relay enabled, Internet connection requests are routed using two separate relays that, as mentioned above, are managed by different entities. The first entity knows the user’s IP address, but not the website they are actually visiting; the second entity, however, knows the website they are visiting, but not their IP address. This ensures that an identity and a ” generic location to the destination website ” are provided, to use Apple’s words in defining the service in question. In short, therefore, if you have iCloud+ Private Relay enabled, no single entity will be able to identify you and the sites you visit.
In any case, however, Private Relay calculates an approximate area based on the location known in your “origin” IP address . This information is then transmitted from your device (and in encrypted format) to the final destination. Why? To allow the websites you consult to see an IP address corresponding to the approximate geographical area in which you are located, so that you can still use them.
Private Relay should actually be enabled by default on your device. If for some reason you need to disable the feature and you are using an iPhone or iPad , you can proceed as follows:
- Open the Settings app and tap your first and last name (at the top).
- Tap iCloud > Private Relay > IP Address Location .
- Move the switch next to Private Relay to OFF and choose whether to deactivate the setting permanently ( Disable Private Relay ) or temporarily ( Disable Until Tomorrow ). In the first case, you can restore everything by going to Settings > [your name and surname] > Private Relay and moving the appropriate switch to ON .
With Private Relay active, if you want, you can also act on the setting relating to the IP address: from the Private Relay screen , simply press on the IP address location item and select Use country and time zone if you do not want to keep the setting relating to the generic location ( Keep generic location ).
On Mac , however, you need to go to System Settings > [your name and surname] > iCloud > Private Relay and proceed in a similar way to what we saw earlier regarding deactivating/activating the setting using the OFF/ON switch next to the Private Relay item and the IP Address Location menu .