you are not anonymous on Apple Watch’
Several new features in iOS 15 ensure that you can surf anonymously and that no one can see which sites you visit. Unfortunately, the ‘private forwarding in iCloud’ function does not work on the Apple Watch and your IP address can still be found.
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iOS 15 Private Transfer in iCloud: Apple Watch not anonymous
Both the iCloud Private Relay and Mail Protect Activities don’t work on Apple Watch. When you receive a link to a website via iMessage and you open the message on your Apple Watch, your real IP address can be found. This problem is also present in the Mail app on the Apple Watch and your real IP address is revealed after sending an email with an image.
Working as intended (or not)
Is this a bug or working as intended? We don’t know, but Apple explicitly states in the accompanying text that the feature is still in beta. In addition, there is no mention of support for devices such as the Apple Watch Series 7. Nevertheless, it is wise to take this into account if you use both functions on your iPhone or iPad and you have an Apple Watch.
New feature in iOS 15
The iCloud private transfer function is a new feature of iOS 15 that allows you to go online anonymously. With this no one can see which sites you visit or find out who you are (not even Apple). In line with this, the Mail app has also received privacy protections. By turning on the ‘Protect activities in Mail’ option, it is no longer possible for senders to infer information about your activities in Mail.
Anonymous Browsing in iOS 15 by Hiding the IP Address
To protect your data, Apple hides your IP address. The IP address is a unique number with which your computer, tablet, smartphone, etc. is visible to all other computers on the internet and they can communicate with each other. By using both features in iOS 15, the IP address is no longer shared, but Apple’s network randomly assigns an IP address, so you are anonymous online. That random IP address still corresponds to the region in which your device is located.
