How to Turn off Private Relay
Although Private Relay offers significant privacy and security benefits, it may sometimes cause issues. A common issue for me is that Private Relay causes some websites not to work properly. For example, some websites are location-sensitive and need your location data, or else you won’t be able to use the website (or at least not be able to use all of the website’s features). This had become an issue for me for some sites, but I did not want to turn off Private Relay for good. Thus, I started turning it off temporarily and then turning it back on again. In this article, I will explain how to turn off Private Relay on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
You may worry about turning off Private Relay and then forgetting to turn it on again. A nice feature that Apple has implemented is the ability to set it to turn on again automatically.
Private Relay is a feature of iCloud. It works by routing your Safari internet traffic through two separate relays, hiding your IP address and encrypting your browsing activity.
Turn off Private Relay on iPhone or iPad
- Tap Settings.
- Tap your name.
- Tap iCloud.
- Find the iCloud + section and tap Private Relay.
- Turn off the Private Relay switch. You will be asked to choose one of these options:
- Turn Off Until Tomorrow – Choose this if your plan is to turn it on again.
- Turn Off Private Relay
Turn off Private Relay on Mac
- Open System Settings. You can click its icon on the Dock or select it from the Apple menu.
- From the top of the left sidebar, click your name.
- Click iCloud.
- Click Private Relay under the iCloud + section.
- A popup will appear with Private Relay settings.
- Click on the switch next to the “Private Relay: On.”
- You will be presented with two options: Turn Off Until Tomorrow or Turn Off Private Relay. Choose one.
Other notes about Private Relay
- You can easily turn Private Relay off or on as many times you would like. This does not involve any data or any other settings.
- Since this is an iCloud feature, you may wonder if turning off Private Relay on one device will turn it off on your other devices using the same Apple ID. The answer is no. For example, if you turn off Private Relay on your Mac, this won’t affect your Private Relay setting on your iPhone or iPad.
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