Apple sells Private Relay as a privacy shield. It’s not working. Security researchers have found that the feature, which is supposed to mask your IP address while you browse in Safari, can be bypassed to expose your real location data, the exact thing it promises to protect.
According to TechCrunch, researchers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk published their findings this week, along with a public test website where anyone can check whether their real IP address is leaking. TechCrunch ran the test and confirmed it worked. Their real IP address showed up despite Private Relay being active.
The researchers traced the problem to three separate flaws in WebKit, Apple’s browser engine. This matters because WebKit is not just Safari’s engine. Every browser on iOS is required to use it. So even if you think switching to a different browser on your iPhone adds a privacy layer, it doesn’t. The underlying engine is the same, and the vulnerabilities follow it.
Private Relay is only available to iCloud+ subscribers, which means people are paying for a feature that has a measurable gap between what Apple promises and what actually happens. And it’s worth being clear about what Private Relay is and is not. It is not a VPN. A VPN protects your IP address at the system level, covering all traffic from all apps. Private Relay only works inside Safari. The moment you step outside that browser, you’re exposed. Even inside Safari, apparently, you can still be exposed.
The researchers decided not to report the flaws to Apple before going public. Mysk explained on X that previous experiences with Apple’s disclosure process involved long delays, inconsistent responses, and outright denial of an issue’s severity. That’s a damning description of how one of the world’s most valuable companies handles security feedback. Apple did not respond to requests for comment.
Mysk and his colleagues also develop a privacy browser called Psylo, and they say it now includes fixes that prevent the IP leak. So they found the problem, built a solution, and shipped it, while Apple has said nothing.
This fits a frustrating pattern. Privacy features marketed to consumers often have asterisks attached that only researchers find. Private Relay has always had limits, including that it doesn’t work on certain network configurations and can be blocked by internet providers. Add active IP leakage to that list. If you’re an iCloud+ subscriber using Private Relay and assuming your IP is hidden, right now, you probably should not.