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How to Disable iCloud Private Relay on iPhone, iPad, and Mac 

Things to know about iCloud Private Relay:

  • This feature is available on iCloud+ and only works on Safari.
  • You can easily turn off iCloud Private Relay on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
  • If a website or network does not work with Private Relay, you can exclude it from Private Relay.
  • iCloud Private Relay may not work with some third party VPNs.

iCloud Private Relay is a data protection feature provided to iCloud+ users. With this feature, you can surf the Internet without worrying about any trackers and enjoy safe browsing. However, while enabling this feature is useful, some websites and online services are still not optimized for it, so users may have difficulty accessing them.

So let’s find out what are the advantages and disadvantages of iCloud Private Realy and how to turn it on or off on your iPhone, iPad or Mac.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Private Relay

If you have an iCloud+ subscription, you should definitely take advantage of the Private Relay feature. That’s why:

Benefits of enabling Private Relay

Enhanced Privacy: While surfing in Safari, if enabled, all your internet traffic will be encrypted through iCloud servers, making it harder for third parties to track your online activities. Thus, your personal information and privacy will be safe.

Ease of Use: While the service does its best to protect your data, you don’t need to do anything other than enable Private Relay on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Once enabled, your device will automatically use your iCloud IP address when you connect to the Internet without any additional configuration.

Multi-Device Compatibility: You can use iCloud Private Relay on multiple Apple devices at no additional charge.

Disadvantages of iCloud Private Relay

Still in the initial phase: the beginning is always a rocky path full of difficulties, as is the case with iCloud Private Relay.

Many websites and services have yet to implement private relay: since this feature is still in its infancy, it has its own issues.

Some features may interfere due to private relaying: Some websites may not fully showcase services and features when enabled. Hence, you need to disable Private Relay on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac in order to take full advantage of the features.

How to Enable or Disable iCloud Private Relay on iPhone and iPad

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap your name (Apple ID) → select iCloud.
  3. Scroll down and tap Private Relay → turn Private Relay on or off.
  4. If you disable it, you can choose:
    • Disable until tomorrow: This will disable the service for the next 24 hours.
    • Turn off Private Relay: Turn it off permanently until you turn it back on.

How to Enable or Disable iCloud Private Relay on Mac

  1. Click the Apple menu .
  2. Select System Preferences. On macOS Monterey and earlier, click System Preferences.
  3. Click your name and select iCloud.
  4. Select Private Repeater.
  5. Click, turn private relay on/off. For macOS Monterey and earlier, enable/disable the checkbox next to Private Relay.

How to exclude a webpage from iCloud Private Relay

The service has been on the market for over a year. However, many websites do not work properly while you have enabled iCloud Private Realy. So, here’s how you can free them.

Note. This feature is only available in iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, and macOS 13.1 Ventura.

On iPhone and iPad

  1. Open Safari.
  2. Visit the webpage you want to exclude from iCloud Private Relay.
  3. Touch the Reading List (AA) icon.
  4. Click Show IP Address.
  5. Tap Continue.

On Mac

To follow these steps to exclude a domain from iCloud Private Relay on Mac, you need to update your Mac to the latest version of macOS Ventura 13.1 or later. Now that that’s done, let’s look at the steps:

  1. Open Safari and visit the web page you want to exclude.
  2. Click View.
  3. Select “Update and show IP address”.

Disable private relay for a specific network

Let’s see what to do if you’re having network issues after enabling iCloud Private Relay.

On iPhone and iPad

For WiFi:

  1. Open Settings and tap Wi-Fi.
  2. Tap the (i) icon next to the connected Wi-Fi network.
  3. Scroll down and disable Restrict IP Tracking.

For Cellular Data (Mobile Data):

  1. Open settings.
  2. Select Cellular/Mobile Data.
  3. Tap Cellular Settings (Mobile Data Settings).
  4. Disable IP Tracking Restriction.

On Mac

For macOS Ventura:

  1. Open the Apple menu  → choose System Preferences.
  2. Select Network in the sidebar.
  3. Now select the network service on the right.
  4. Click the Details button (three dots).
  5. Select Restrict IP Tracking.

For macOS Monterey:

  1. Go to “Settings”→ “Network”and select a network from the list.
  2. Now check the box next to “Limit IP Tracking”.

Set the location specifics of your IP address

You can configure how Private relay should hide your IP address in order to access web content.

On iPhone and iPad

  1. Open Settings → tap your name (Apple ID).
  2. Select iCloud → select Private Relay.
  3. Click “IP Address Location”and select one of the following options:
    • Saving a shared location. Allow sites to show you localized content in Safari while your IP address remains hidden.
    • Use country and time zone: Use a wider location for your IP address while staying within your country and time zone.

On Mac

  1. Click the Apple menu  → choose System Preferences. On macOS Monteratry and earlier, select System Preferences.
  2. Click your name (Apple ID) → select iCloud.
  3. Click Private Relay.
  4. Here, in the “IP address location”section, select one of them:
    • Keep general location: Allow sites to show you localized content while hiding your IP address.
    • Use country and time zone: Use a wider location for your IP address while in your country and time zone.

FAQ

No. iCloud Private Relay is not Apple’s VPN, although it encrypts your data and hides your IP address. This is because VPNs create a virtual private network; meanwhile, Private Relay does not.

No. Despite the extra step of encrypting user data, Private Relay ensures that your connection speed doesn’t suffer too much to be noticeable.

No. Private Realy is currently a Safari exclusive feature. However, we’re not sure if this feature will be rolled out to other Apple or third-party services.

Stay safe online

iCloud Private Relay is Apple’s huge step in protecting user data. While this feature is great, it is still in its infancy and hence many websites and other online services do not use it yet. Therefore, we have also included the steps to enable and disable iCloud Private Relay on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

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