Update: Late Saturday, more than two days after the iCloud Private Relay problem first cropped up, Apple fixed it.
If you’ve received repeated notifications that iCloud Private Relay is inactive on one of your Apple devices, it’s not a problem with your internet connection or network. The problem is on Apple’s end.
The issue has persisted since Thursday afternoon and into Friday morning, and might be slowing down your web browsing.
Technical problems… please stand by
Apple’s online services rarely have technical problems, but it does happen. You might remember a bug in Apple Weather in early 2023, for example.
Now the problem child is iCloud Private Relay. This service is listed on Apple’s official System Status page as having an issue. “This service may be slow or unavailable,” reports Apple. “Some users are affected.”
There’s no word on when the problem will be fixed.
More about iCloud Private Relay
iCloud Private Relay makes it much harder for websites to track those who subscribe to the service.
It sends all Safari requests through two different relays. One replaces the user’s IP address with an anonymous one. The second relay takes on the role of a domain name server, routing the user to websites without ever knowing their real IP addresses. The goal is that no one, including Apple, can track a user online — or at least make it much more difficult.
The service is part of iCloud+, and it available to those who pay $1 a month or more for additional storage.
Temporarily turn it off
If iCloud Private Relay is currently running slowly on Apple’s servers, it might also be slowing down your web browsing. If you think that’s happening, consider temporarily deactivating the service. it’s easy to turn it off until the next day and then have it automatically reactivate.
Open the Settings app and tap the Apple ID banner (the one with your name on it at the top of the main screen). Then tap iCloud, and then tap Private Relay. On the resulting pager, toggle off Private Relay. One of the options is Turn Off Until Tomorrow — choose that one.
