iCloud Private Relay — one of the biggest features is the busiest for Apple. This is when it comes out with new iPhones, upgraded Apple Watch, usually new Macs, and new software versions for all of its devices.
For 2021, one of the big updates folks are looking forward to is iOS 15. It may look like a fairly small update on the surface, but there's a lot for iPhone s to sink their teeth into. Whether it be all-new FaceTime features, a redesigned Weather app, or better notification handling, iOS 15 has plenty to look forward to. Unfortunately, one of its many features won't be quite ready when iOS 15 rolls out to everyone this fall.
As part of the release notes for iOS 15 beta 7, Apple confirmed the following: "iCloud Private Relay will be released as a public beta to gather additional and improve website compatibility." Private Relay is sort of like a built-in VPN in iOS 15. When s visit a website in Safari and have the feature turned on, Private Relay encrypts the connection so no one else (not even Apple) can see that person's IP address or which sites they've visited.
How To Opt-In To iCloud Private Relay In iOS 15
Once someone installs iOS 15 on their iPhone, iCloud Private Relay will be turned off by default. It's simple enough to manually turn on the feature, but that is an extra step folks need to keep in mind. To do this, open the Settings app, go to the iCloud section, and tap 'Private Relay,' and then tap the toggle next to 'Private Relay (Beta).' Because of the new beta moniker — and likely why Apple is holding off on a full release — there's a warning that iCloud Private Relay may cause issues with some websites. As spotted by 9to5Mac, Apple mentions that "Some websites may have issues, like showing content for the wrong region or requiring extra steps to sign in."
While it is disappointing that iCloud Private Relay has some issues to work through, it's nice to see it hasn't been completely ripped out of iOS 15. Folks who want the most seamless browsing experience will likely want to keep Private Relay disabled. Still, if that added privacy layer sounds appealing, there's no harm in seeing how stable/wonky it is with certain websites.