Whenever you visit a website on your iPhone, your unique IP address is exposed. Advertising networks and data brokers use this IP address to build a profile of your browsing habits across different websites, tracking where you go and what you look at to serve you highly targeted ads. Apple, prioritizing user privacy, included a built-in feature in Safari that masks your IP address from these known trackers.
How to Enable IP Address Hiding
This privacy feature is completely free, does not require an iCloud+ subscription (unlike iCloud Private Relay), and is built directly into the core iOS Safari settings.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down through the list of applications until you find Safari. Tap on it.
- Scroll down to the section labeled “Privacy & Security.”
- Tap on the option labeled Hide IP Address.
- You will see two options: “Off” and “From Trackers.” Tap on From Trackers to select it (a blue checkmark will appear next to it).
What Does This Actually Do?
Once enabled, Safari will route your browsing requests through a secondary server specifically for elements on the page identified as tracking pixels or third-party tracking cookies. This means that if you visit a blog post, the blog’s server will still see your IP address (which is necessary for the website to load), but the hidden Facebook or Google advertising trackers embedded on that page will only see a generic Apple server IP address.
This significantly limits the ability of advertising networks to connect your activity across different websites, resulting in a more private, less invasive web browsing experience.