Apr 28, 2022 10:07:00

Apple may extend privacy protection 'iCloud Private Relay' to apps other than Safari on iOS 16

ICloud + , a paid subscription service provided by Apple, provides a function called iCloud Private Relay . iCloud Private Relay protects the privacy of users when surfing the Internet with Safari, a genuine Apple browser. It is reported that iOS 16 will extend the apps that can protect data using iCloud Private Relay beyond Safari.

Experts predict Apple will turn on Private Relay by default in iOS 16 --Digiday
https://digiday.com/media/experts-predict-apple-will-turn-on-private-relay-by-default-in-ios-16/

iOS 16 could expand iCloud Private Relay to hide even more data --9to5Mac
https://9to5mac.com/2022/04/27/ios-16-could-expand-icloud-private-relay-to-hide-even-more-data/

According to Digiday reports, Apple plans to add some new features to iOS 16 coming in 2022 to further crack down on user data tracking. One of the people who provided information to Digiday was Charles Manning, CEO of mobile analytics company Kochava.

Manning explains that Apple is looking to enhance privacy by expanding iCloud Private Relay, 'combining the logistic implications of policy enforcement with Apple's previous efforts to create technical guardrails. It's clear that it will rely on iCloud Private Relay as a technical enforcement mechanism. Apple announces that customers love iCloud Private Relay and have been successful enough to make it an always-on feature of in-app operation. I'm wondering if that is the case. '

At the time of writing the article, iCloud Private Relay is a privacy protection function that is mainly implemented only for Safari network traffic, and this function can be used only by users who have subscribed to the paid subscription service iCloud +. But if Manning is right, Apple plans to extend iCloud Private Relay to apps other than Safari.

According to Apple-related media 9to5Mac, Apple reroutes IP addresses to all users when accessing websites over HTTP using Safari. This IP address rerouting is said to be done for all users, whether or not they have iCloud Private Relay turned on. This means that aiming for iCloud private relays to be on all the time means that Apple could make iCloud private relays like IP address rerouting.