The privacy myth crumbles: Inside the iCloud+ flaws threatening Apple's most valuable promise
The use of facial recognition technology to police protesters is growing in Europe and this “erosion of privacy” may shape how citizens express dissent.
Apple’s iCloud+ suite of privacy tools — including the paid iCloud Private Relay feature and Hide My Email service — has come under scrutiny for potential privacy leaks. Last month, researchers discovered that iCloud Private Relay, which encrypts Safari traffic, inadvertently exposed users’ real IP addresses through DNS prefetching and WebTransport protocols.
Apple acknowledged the flaw but had reportedly known about it for over a year before releasing a patch in response to media attention. Similarly, the Hide My Email service, designed to provide anonymous email addresses, was found to leak users’ real email addresses when emails were automatically rejected as spam. Despite Apple issuing a patch, the leaked data remains vulnerable as it will be stored by third parties.
These incidents question whether Apple’s marketing of privacy actually reflects its technical capabilities and prompt users to seek alternative methods to protect their online privacy.
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