Apple’s iCloud Private Relay,a service designed to protect paid iCloud users from online trackers,has been experiencing outages in several major markets.These disruptions have affected users’ability to access web services and apps that require internet connectivity.

　　Scope of the Outage

　　According to TechCrunch,iCloud Private Relay’s downtime has impacted users in Europe,India,Japan,and the United States since at least Thursday.The outages have been sporadic,causing difficulties for users trying to access the web via Safari and other apps reliant on internet connections.

　　Confirmation and Impact

　　Apple’s System Status web page has confirmed the outage,noting that the service might be“slow or unavailable”for some users.iCloud Private Relay,launched in 2021 for iCloud+subscribers,enhances user privacy by encrypting internet traffic and preventing web trackers and internet service providers from profiling users based on their IP addresses,locations,and browsing activities.The service employs the Oblivious DNS-over-HTTPS protocol,which Apple developed with Cloudflare in 2020.

　　Temporary Solution

　　Users affected by the ongoing outage can temporarily disable iCloud Private Relay.To do this,navigate to Settings>Profile>iCloud>Private Relay and turn off the service.

　　Response

　　Apple has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the outages.

　　Conclusion

　　The recent issues with iCloud Private Relay highlight the challenges of maintaining uninterrupted privacy services on a global scale.Users facing connectivity problems are advised to disable the service temporarily while Apple works on resolving the issue.