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Downvote? I'm confused. This whole "Apple gets to bypass firewalls" thing is IMO a huge deal.

Whoever figures out how to make a system-wide firewall that can block everything including "unblockable" Apple network traffic likely deserves (again: IMO) all the attention we can give them.

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This already exists. Apple processes can bypass app-specific filters (NEFilterDataProvider), but not system-wide firewalls (like the built-in BPF), VPN configurations, etc.

I thought they DID bypass vpn connections.

Also, apple will routinely clear your pf rules when installing stuff.

No, they only avoid being filtered by per-process filters. They can't bypass packet filters, by design; system-wide VPN connections work the same way, and cannot be bypassed.

I’m marking this to remind myself to update my research. If anyone has references they are appreciated.

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