How to Enable Private Relay on Your iPhone

  Matt Cone       September 21, 2021      Tutorials iPhone Internet Security

When you surf the internet with your iPhone, your personal information is collected at several points along the way. For example, if you visit nytimes.com, the New York Times web server can log your iPhone’s IP address and user agent (iPhone), among other technical details that could be used to identify you. That data can be used to track you around the internet and deliver customized advertisements.

Understanding How Private Relay Works

Apple’s Private Relay feature — new in iOS 15 and available to iCloud+ subscribers — helps obscure those technical details when using the Safari web browser. In the countries where this feature is available, it routes your traffic through various content delivery networks (CDNs) to hide your real IP address. The result is better protection of your anonymity while you’re surfing the internet.

Enabling Private Relay on Your iPhone

Here’s how to enable the Private Relay feature on your iPhone:

1. Subscribe to iCloud+ if you haven’t already done so.

2. From the home screen, tap Settings.

3. Tap your name, as shown below.

   

4. Tap iCloud, as shown below.

   

5. Tap Private Relay, as shown below.

   

5. Tap the Private Relay switch into the on position, as shown below.

   

Congratulations, you’ve successfully enabled the Private Relay feature on your iPhone!

Checking to See if Private Relay is Working

Now you can visit a website like whatismyip.com to see if Private Relay is obscuring your IP address. The IP address displayed on this website should not match the actual IP address assigned to your iPhone or your network’s router. If the IP addresses don’t match, Private Relay is working.

Related Articles

• Protecting Your Privacy While Using Apple Devices
• How to Enable Private Relay on Your iPad
• How to Enable Private Relay on Your Mac
• How to Use Tor Browser on a Mac