Digging into Apple’s iCloud Private Relay

So many questions: Why two hops and not three, like Tor? Also, Tor routes only TCP; what does Apple Private Relay route? And how is it related to iCloud - is it just branding? Finally, why aren't people on HN raving about it? Based on a first impression, it's a fantasy come true - a major company is creating an anonymizing network for its users traffic!

From a prior discussion:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27433871

More details here.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90643627/apple-privacy-wwdc-priv...

>This is where iCloud Private Relay comes in—and puts VPNs to shame. iCloud Private Relay uses a dual-hop architecture. When you navigate to a website through Safari, iCloud Private Relay takes your IP address, which it needs to connect you to the website you want to go to, and the URL of that site. But it encrypts the URL so not even Apple can see what website you are visiting. Your IP and encrypted destination URL then travels to an intermediary relay station run by a third-party trusted partner. Apple would not name these trusted partners, but says the company is working with some of the largest content providers out there. Before getting to this relay station, however, your IP address is anonymized and randomized, so the relay partner can’t identify you or your device. Then at the relay station, the destination URL is unencrypted, so the third-party provider can send you on to the website you want to go to.

>Because of this dual-hop architecture, neither Apple nor the relay station knows both who you are and where you are going. Apple knows who you are (because you are using iCloud Private Relay), but it doesn’t know where you’re browsing. Its third-party partner knows where you are browsing–but not who you are.

> Private Relay is bypassed for everything not listed above, including: Secure, “https:” traffic from your apps.

I don't think I've seen plaintext advertiser or analytics traffic in a very long time.