Apple’s iCloud Private Relay is back to private status, after an apparent fix in iOS 26.6.1 patched the vulnerability that would expose a person’s IP address even when the feature was enabled.
iCloud Private Relay is a paid feature available only to customers with an iCloud Plus subscription. When it’s active, it routes web traffic through proxy servers to mask your physical location and web traffic. It’s specific to Apple’s Safari web browser and apps that use Apple’s WebKit framework, and is not the same as a VPN (Virtual Private Network), which hides all internet traffic.
Earlier in August, developers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk noticed that Apple devices with iCloud Private Relay turned on could still leak the IP address in three circumstances. They set up a webpage at leaks.psyop.app where you can check to see if you’re vulnerable.
Mysk posted on X that Apple’s iOS 26.2.1 release (and the 26.2.1 releases of Apple’s other operating systems) is where the fix appeared, even though it’s not noted in Apple’s security release notes. Now if you go to that leaks webpage, it reports the masked IP addresses, not the actual address for the device you’re running. You need to have iCloud Private Relay on in Settings > iCloud.
Mysk also noted in a reply on X that “It’s near to impossible Apple would have addressed this issue so quickly had we reported it to Apple first. As expected, they only fixed it for Safari.”
An Apple representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Soon after its existence was revealed, the iCloud Private Relay vulnerability prompted a lawsuit by Clarkson Law Firm, the same outfit that successfully got a $250 million settlement with Apple over how the company advertised its Apple Intelligence features at launch. The firm has also recently sued smart ring maker Oura.
A Clarkson Law Firm representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jeff Carlson writes about mobile technology at CNET, from cellular phone plans to devices and emerging technology.
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