Apple Says iOS 15.2 Included No Changes That Would Have Toggled iCloud Private Relay Off

[BurgDog]

I tried using the feature and turned it off. Largest hassle is some sites won't allow you to comment or contribute if they determine you are using VPNs or proxies. Relatively easy to detect as well given the exit point IPs tend to be well known. I disabled it in cellular settings and did notice the message blaming T-Mobile for my action.

 

[DanteHicks79]

I'd just like to know why my cell data plan keeps shutting off with AT&T prepaid. It's something on the carrier end, because when it happens, the SIM won't connect on any of my older phones I put it into. Calls and SMS (non-iMessage) work ok, it just acts like the internet doesn't exist. Multiple calls to AT&T have been beyond fruitless and irritating.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

I'm going to presume you're not in China.

The argument isn't that Apple provides complete privacy. It's quite clear that most of Apple's protections provide commercial privacy, not privacy from governments. The article you linked pretty much just details what is required under Chinese law, which is not negotiable for companies operating there, just like laws anywhere else in the world. To sell products in a country you need to follow local laws, just like how in the U.S. Apple is required to hand over iCloud backups when requested, some apps are required to be pre-installed in Russia, camera sounds in Japanese iPhones can't be silenced, TikTok is banned in India, and UAE iPhones can't use FaceTime. If the law mandating a backdoor from last year actually got passed in the US, you better believe iPhones will come with a backdoor.

There is no perfect solution other than providing the most privacy protections under the given limitations, and Apple typically does much better than competitors when it comes to the aspects that are not legally mandated. This largely comes down to providing more aggressive privacy protections from data mining and advertisers (even in China, which I would say is a huge plus for Chinese consumers, one example being the failure of CAID).

 

[FelixDerKater]

Also got a notice that the FiOS router doesn't support it.

 

[0924487]

Your technical details are about 10 years out of date.

The main point of a VPN isn't to circumvent security, it is to protect yourself from malicious actors. This could include those that want to track you for analytics you don't agree with. Major public VPNs are easy to block without DPI since they rely on DNS resolution. Preventing this blocking generally isn't a goal of a VPN service. Sure there are exceptions in VPNs designed to circumvent state censoring, but that isn't what Private Relay is for. DPI in general doesn't work well these days because certificate pinning and HSTS has become common. Technically you could trick HSTS in to thinking it has a legitimate certificate when doing DPI for machines that have an always-on VPN or never leave a corporate network, but that isn't common. It is mostly just used in highly regulated environments like within financial companies that are willing to live with the downsides. You generally can't use DPI without breaking much of the Internet. DPI used to be common on corporate networks before modern security practices, but most networks are primarily relying on technologies like OpenDNS these days. In practice, parental controls and content filtering only work on machines managed by IT (or a parent) that can install a plugin in the operating system. Nobody breaks long running connections to disrupt VPNs anymore. I recall seeing that 10-15 years ago before long polling became a common web technique. These days that would break many websites.

VPN doesn’t work in China if it can be detected.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

I am happy that my interests and Apple's profit interest align in this case to give me a product I'm interested in. Apple doesn't pursue privacy instead of profit... They pursue it in favor of profit. It is the strongest area Google can't compete with them on since a core portion of their business model (including for Android) is profiting from personalized ads which require user data collection...

Don't prescribe morals and principals to corporations. They lack capacity for anything more than profit seeking.

That being said, Apple has been quite good with privacy even before they started pushing it as a selling point. Back in the iOS newsstand days quite a few publications like TIME backed out because Apple wouldn't share user info with publishers for them to advertise to. Apple was also much more proactive in limiting user data like location and camera/mic from being unnecessarily collected by apps. While it has become a selling point in recent years, it used to be more of a case of Apple having the business model that gave them the freedom to choose, and people at the top made the right choice. Apple could have very well followed MS's footsteps in Windows 10 and started mining user data.


Steve Jobs back in 2010:

Privacy means people know what they’re signing up for, in plain English, and repeatedly. That’s what it means. I’m an optimist, I believe people are smart. And some people want to share more data than other people do. Ask them. Ask them every time. Make them tell you to stop asking them if they get tired of your asking them. Let them know precisely what you’re going to do with their data.

That’s what we think.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

VPN doesn’t work in China if it can be detected.

Corporate VPNs that uses local CDNs work without issues. Foreign VPNs are sometimes blocked, especially around sensitive dates, but typically larger VPNs like express or Nord are more or less reliable.

 

[scotty321]

Imagine using a VPN from Apple. Lol.

ProtonVPN is the only trustworthy VPN to use.

 

[MacTiki]

It must be exhausting for Apple to fight on every front for our privacy. It would be so easy to just fold up their tents and make a ton more money.

Apple is not perfect. Far from it. But thank heavens it is run by principled leaders who fight for us. They don’t need to—yet they do anyway. And I, for one, am thankful.

A company does not become the most valuable in the world unless those who are in charge make maximizing profits their number one priority. They have a duty to their shareholders to do so.

On the other hand it could be that someone made a deal with the devil.

 

[MacTiki]

with China

Exactly.

And what concessions did Apple make to sell products and operate services behind the Great Firewall of China???

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

So I got a message 'Private Relay not available in this area'.

Um, what?!?! What 'area'? Is this my cellular signal/carrier now? I upgraded the wifi hardware here thinking it would fix it, nope, maybe not?. Is it the local cellular signal now?

The damned technology just seems to not want to work, and yet it says it's turned on on the iPhone. When I look in the wifi area, 'Limit IP Address Tracking' is turned on. 'Private Relay' is turned on too. Is this a phishing message, or something real? If it says it's not working, and all indications are it is enabled, how in the heck can I tell if it's working nor not?

Come on Apple. I get the 'beta' part, but even beta testing isn't quite this nebulous. I'm used to spectacular crashes and lost data, and ominously vague error messages, not messages saying it's not working out between us, and it's still clinging on to me and my iPhone. Good grief...

IS IT WORKING OR NOT? Stupid upgrades that promise so much and mumble through it? Wow... (Yes, I'm cranky. They say they are pritecting me, and fighting it every inch of the way apparently)