Apple reports iCloud Private Relay global outages for some users

by with No Comment Tech

Apple's iCloud Private Relay on an iPhone

Image Credits: Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch

Apple’s iCloud Private Relay, which helps protect paid iCloud users from online trackers, has experienced outages affecting major markets, restricting users from accessing web services and apps that use internet connectivity.

TechCrunch understands that iCloud Private Relay’s downtime has affected some Apple users in markets including Europe, India Japan, and the United States since at least Thursday. The sporadic outages are restricting users from accessing the web on the Safari browser and reporting internet connectivity issues on installed apps.

Apple’s System Status web page confirms the latest iCloud Private Relay outage and mentions that the service might be “slow or unavailable” for some users.

Launched in 2021 specifically for iCloud+ subscribers, iCloud Private Relay helps protect Apple users from online trackers by encrypting traffic going through customer devices. The DNS service sends requests using two separate internet relays to restrict web trackers and internet service providers to profile users by combining their IP addresses, location and browsing activity. It uses the Oblivious DNS-over-HTTPS protocol that Apple designed in collaboration with Cloudflare in 2020.

If you are affected by the ongoing iCloud Private Relay outage, you can temporarily switch off the service by going to Settings > Profile > iCloud > Private Relay.

Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

Apple reports iCloud Private Relay global outages for some users

by with No Comment Tech

Apple's iCloud Private Relay on an iPhone

Image Credits: Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch

Apple’s iCloud Private Relay, which helps protect paid iCloud users from online trackers, has experienced outages affecting major markets, restricting users from accessing web services and apps that use internet connectivity.

TechCrunch understands that iCloud Private Relay’s downtime has affected some Apple users in markets including Europe, India Japan, and the United States since at least Thursday. The sporadic outages are restricting users from accessing the web on the Safari browser and reporting internet connectivity issues on installed apps.

Apple’s System Status web page confirms the latest iCloud Private Relay outage and mentions that the service might be “slow or unavailable” for some users.

Launched in 2021 specifically for iCloud+ subscribers, iCloud Private Relay helps protect Apple users from online trackers by encrypting traffic going through customer devices. The DNS service sends requests using two separate internet relays to restrict web trackers and internet service providers to profile users by combining their IP addresses, location and browsing activity. It uses the Oblivious DNS-over-HTTPS protocol that Apple designed in collaboration with Cloudflare in 2020.

If you are affected by the ongoing iCloud Private Relay outage, you can temporarily switch off the service by going to Settings > Profile > iCloud > Private Relay.

Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

illustration of key over cloud icon

Apple launches a redesigned iCloud app for Windows

by with No Comment Tech

illustration of key over cloud icon

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

Apple has launched a redesigned iCloud app for Windows to offer a better onboarding and content syncing experience for iPhone or iPad users who don’t own a Mac.

The new app, available for Windows 10 and 11, has a new setup experience for easier onboarding. It also has a syncing status indicator for different services to better indicate how many items have been downloaded or uploaded.

Image Credits: Apple

What’s more, you can also use a physical security key to sign into your Apple ID. Additionally, the updated app reduces the frequency of sign-in prompts, has improved photo-syncing performance with Microsoft Photos and displays easy shortcuts to access other Apple services.

Last September, Apple redesigned iCloud.com to include features like browser notifications for Mail and Calendar on a PC, a customizable home page with the ability to take quick actions and a slideshow view for photos.

Apple first announced separate apps for iCloud, Apple TV and Apple Music for the Windows platform in 2022. Eventually, it introduced some apps — including Apple Music and Apple TV — in preview last year in a bid to replace iTunes. These apps are now out of preview and available as a standalone experience on Windows. Plus, for device management there is a Devices app, so users don’t need to access iTunes for that. The iTunes app still exists on the platform, but it is primarily for users to access podcasts and audiobooks.