Apple, with its continuous focus on user privacy, introduced the iCloud Private Relay feature in Safari some time ago. This tool conceals our IP address from the websites we visit, making tracking more difficult and ensuring an additional level of privacy.
But what if we need to display our IP address to a specific site? Fortunately, Apple provides us with the option to do so temporarily and quite easily. Let’s discuss how to disable iCloud Private Relay for individual sites and why we might want to do it.
Why disable iCloud Private Relay sometimes?
iCloud Private Relay is a security feature that prevents websites and trackers from accessing our real IP address. This results in a more private and secure browsing experience, preventing advertisers and websites from collecting data about our browsing habits by comparing the IP that visits different pages.
However, there are times when we might want to deactivate it for various reasons. The most common ones include:
- Region-Restricted Access: Some websites limit or customize content based on geographical location. If we’re using Private Relay, the site might not recognize the location as valid and could deny access or display different content.
- Banking and Online Transactions: Financial institutions closely monitor IP addresses to prevent fraud. If they detect access from an IP that seems “suspicious” or unusual, they might block a transaction for security reasons.
- IP Address Verification: Occasionally, we might need to verify our IP address to troubleshoot technical issues or for specific configurations. This can also be necessary for certain tasks that require the same IP to perform separate steps over time.
How to disable iCloud Private Relay in Safari for a webpage
Whatever the reason may be, temporarily deactivating iCloud Private Relay and displaying our real IP address to a website is quite straightforward. Here’s how you can do it:
- Open the Safari app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
- Go to the site of interest.
- Tap the “aA” button next to the address bar on iPhone or iPad, or the three-dot button on Mac.
- Choose “Reload & Show IP Address.”
- Accept the prompt.
When you’re finished, you can simply close the tab on your device or revisit the same menu and choose “Reload & Hide IP Address.” While browsing, the specific website will be able to identify exactly who is visiting, and it can also determine your geographical location by geolocating the displayed IP address.
On the other hand, while displaying the IP address, your browsing activity becomes visible to others. This includes network administrators if you’re connected to Wi-Fi or even your internet service provider, who can observe your online activities. It’s important to note that iCloud Private Relay prevents this exposure for the rest of your browsing, ensuring that what you visit and do on the internet remains private and is not easily accessible to entities on the network you’re using for that specific visit.
iCloud Private Relay is, bearing in mind that iOS 17 will be much more secure thanks to these features, a truly valuable tool in the digital age we live in, where everything revolves around the internet. It ensures an additional level of privacy by concealing the address from which we visit any site, yet granting us the ability to deactivate this protection when necessary. Not for all sites, but only for specific ones, providing us with significant control and flexibility over our browsing experience.
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