MacDirectory Magazine

Stijn Grooten

MacDirectory magazine is the premiere creative lifestyle magazine for Apple enthusiasts featuring interviews, in-depth tech reviews, Apple news, insights, latest Apple patents, apps, market analysis, entertainment and more.

Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1436922

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enter and request to connect to that site. As of right now, Apple hasn’t specified who this third-party is. So what is this for? Well, in a few words, Private Relay will ensure that not a single company or website is able to store all your information. Apple and your network provider will see your IP address while your DNS records will be encrypted so no one can see which websites you’re trying to visit. What’s the Difference Between Private Relay and a VPN At first glance, you might think that iCloud Private Relay is a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service, but that’s not exactly true. There are a couple of big differences between the two services that can help you tell them apart. First and foremost, you can’t change your location with Private Relay. Private Relay will change your exact IP address to a more general one, so companies won’t know exactly where you are. On the other hand, a VPN lets you virtually change your location to basically anywhere in the world. That way, you can tell a website you’re in China while you’re sitting conformably on your couch in the US. Another big difference is that iCloud Private Relay only works on Safari. You can hide your DNS records and your IP address as long as you’re browsing the web with Safari. If you like using a different browser, you’re basically out of luck. A VPN service works basically on any app and browser. It changes your device’s location so you’ll be in a different place for every app you open, including Netflix and Safari. Google Chrome, you name it. Overall, Private Relay is an extra layer of protection, but it’s nowhere near as complete as a Virtual Private Network. If you want even more protection, you can use both and try one of the best VPN services you can get for your money. The Technical Problems With Private Relay It’s worth noting that, at the time you’re reading this, Private Relay is still in beta, which means that it’s not working perfectly yet. Private Relay was actually down not long ago, and it took Apple quite some time to make it work again. The other problems are related to the websites and your location. Since it’s fairly new, not every website supports Private Relay. Developers will need to update their websites, but in the meantime, sites might show content or information for the wrong regions. To avoid these kinds of problems, you can manually turn on Private Relay on your iPhone, which we’ll talk about in just a moment. Networks or network-based services might have the same problem. For example, suppose a network isn’t compatible with Private Relay, needs to have the ability to audit your traffic, or needs to view your browsing activity. In that case, you won’t be able to use Private Relay. Finally, let’s discuss location. As of right now, not every country has access to Private Relay. If you live or travel to a country that doesn’t support this feature, Private Relay will stop working until it can be activated again. How to Turn On iCloud Private Relay

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