How to turn on Apple’s iCloud Private Relay for iPhone, iPad, and Mac

If the thought of the big, bad internet slowly building a detailed profile of you gives you the heebie jeebies, we have fantastic news: There’s a way to prevent that on an iPhone. 

You can turn on iCloud Private Relay, a beta feature on iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey that Apple says will ensure that your web traffic will be encrypted and sent through two separate internet relays. This will protect your IP address, location, and browsing activity from websites and network providers.

The only caveat? You must have an iCloud+ subscription, which ranges from $0.99-$9.99/month. 

We could all use a little more internet privacy in our daily digital lives, so here’s how to turn it on. Do note that this process only enables iCloud Private Relay on one device. If you have multiple Apple devices you want to protect, make sure you follow these steps on each device. 

1. Open Settings, and tap on your name at the top

Tap on your name here.
Credit: Screenshot: Apple

This will open your system settings, where iCloud Private Relay will be housed. 

2. Tap on iCloud, then Private Relay

Credit: Screenshot: Apple

Credit: Screenshot: Apple

This should pull up the description for Private Relay and a toggle button. Tap on the toggle to turn it green, and the feature should now be on. 

You can also choose to turn Private Relay on only for a specific WIFi or cellular network. To do that: 

1. In your Settings, tap on WiFi

Credit: Screenshot: Apple

Credit: Screenshot: Apple

This will display your current WiFi network and the usual list of other available nearby networks. Here, tap on the “i” next to your current network. Then, tap on the toggle next to Private Relay.

2. For cellular networks, open Settings and tap on Cellular

Credit: Screenshot: Apple

Credit: Screenshot: Apple

If you only have one line associated with your iPhone, you can just tap on Cellular Data Options and toggle on Private Relay. If you have multiple lines, choose the line you’d like to enable Private Relay on, then toggle it on. 

And that’s it! You can now rest assured that your internet activity and information are a lot more secure.