Private Relay bypasses Pi-Hole

[groovyf]

Just stuck iOS15 PB on my 11 Pro.
Noticed that with Private Relay turned on, I’m getting adverts in Safari now. Turn the option off and adverts are gone.
Seems having the option on is bypassing the Pi-Hole I have running to block ads.

 

[Apple_Robert]

If I m not mistaken, there was a thread or two when the beta was first dropped and many people found out that there was a problem running PR with a VPN or other third party adblockers.

 

[groovyf]

Cheers for the reply. Should’ve searched for something first before posting. On it now though!

 

[zakarhino]

It shouldn’t do this unless private relay bypasses your device’s (or network’s) DNS settings. This is why Apple need to publish detailed docs on how the tech works in full. Perhaps DNS over TLS to Cloudflare is a part of Private Relay.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Cheers for the reply. Should’ve searched for something first before posting. On it now though!

No problem. Here is one of the threads I was remembering.

Private Relay captures DNS

Updated everything, and private relay bypasses your local DNS. Which means that DNS based add blockers no longer work.

forums.macrumors.com

 

[BoxsterRS]

How can I test if the private relay is doing what it's supposed to do? After turning it on and choosing any of the 2 options I always see my IP information.

Edit1: Only by using a VPN service can I change the IP address.
Edit2: I am using a Mac Mini M1 (if it makes any difference.)

 

[Samdh90]

Honestly it is not surprising. The reason is that with pihole, devices use the pihole as either a DNS server, or an internal filter. You can easily get around this by using a custom DNS server. A Private relay will do the same thing.

 

[dallastigers]

How can I test if the private relay is doing what it's supposed to do? After turning it on and choosing any of the 2 options I always see my IP information.

Edit1: Only by using a VPN service can I change the IP address.
Edit2: I am using a Mac Mini M1 (if it makes any difference.)

I am starting to wonder about this as well on my iPhone. When i check IP address on website it’s always what it is supposed to be - provider linked to me or the one from VPN(using IKEv2 as a personal VPN mostly but is the same in regular VPN configuration). With personal VPN i see DNS requests through AdGuard DNS/VPN app, but that may differ than pihole even using split tunnel. I don’t see “mask-api” from apple domains, and they appear to by passing AdGuard app when I use AdGuard but with or without AdGuard running or with or without VPN my IP address is visible using Safari even though turned on in all areas - iCloud, WiFi, and Safari with no notifications that private relay not up for my device.

I turned off the Protect Mail Activity to be able to block all remote content until I select turn it on for selected emails like in prior ios versions as new emails downloading were showing DNS requests that included tracker addresses. I don’t know what was requesting the DNS addresses or if mail app connected to them, but until i can confirm its up and working i don’t want remote content loading in background for any email that gets sent.