Safari’s Tracking Prevention and Fraud Warning: What Apple Documents Beyond Private Relay

iOS 27 iPadOS 27
Image: Apple iOS 27

Safari carries at least four documented privacy features that are separate from iCloud Private Relay and do not require an iCloud+ subscription: Intelligent Tracking Prevention, a free tier of IP address hiding from known trackers, a Privacy Report, and Fraudulent Website Warning. Apple describes each one differently, and only one of them needs a paid plan.

Apple iPhone 18 Pro 2up
Safari's tracking protections apply the same way on iPhone as on other Apple devices. Image: Apple

Reading Apple’s Safari support guide and its Safari privacy documentation together separates what is on by default, what requires a setting change, and what stops working the moment a subscription lapses.

Key facts, as Apple documents them

FeatureWhat Apple states it does
Intelligent Tracking PreventionLimits cross-site tracking by third parties; on by default in Safari
Hide IP Address, Trackers OnlyRoutes traffic that would go to known trackers through two relays; available to all users, no subscription
Hide IP Address, Trackers and WebsitesExtends the same relay routing to all Safari browsing; requires iCloud+
Privacy ReportShows a summary of trackers Intelligent Tracking Prevention encountered and blocked on the current page
Fraudulent Website WarningChecks a site against safe-browsing services before loading it; can be turned off in Safari settings
Macbook
Several of these Safari features, including Intelligent Tracking Prevention, run on Mac without an iCloud+ subscription. Image: Apple

The free tier of IP address hiding

Apple’s documentation states that Safari automatically protects a user’s IP address from known trackers, and that this protection is separate from iCloud+. Under Settings, then Apps, then Safari, then Hide IP Address, a user can choose Trackers Only, which Apple describes as sending some traffic through two relays operated by different entities: one relay sees the IP address but not the destination site, the other sees the destination but not the IP address. The fuller option, hiding the IP address from both trackers and ordinary websites, is the part that Apple ties to an iCloud+ subscription.

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Apple logo
Apple's own Safari support pages, not third-party testing, are the source for each feature below. Image: Apple

What the Privacy Report actually shows

Apple’s support guide describes the Privacy Report as a summary tied to Intelligent Tracking Prevention: it lists the trackers Safari encountered on the page currently open and states that those trackers were prevented from profiling the visit. On iPhone and iPad, it is reached by tapping the Safari address bar controls; on Mac, through the Safari menu. Apple’s documentation frames the report as a per-page and cross-site summary, not a stored history a user can search later.

Fraudulent Website Warning and what it actually checks

Apple’s support article states that before visiting a site, Safari can send information calculated from the site’s address to safe-browsing services, including Apple’s own, to check whether the site has been reported as deceptive or harmful. The same article states that the actual website address is never shared with the safe-browsing provider, only the calculated information used for the check. The feature can be switched off entirely in Safari’s settings, at which point no such check runs.

Free versus paid, side by side

Cost tierFeatures Apple places in it
No subscription requiredIntelligent Tracking Prevention, Hide IP Address (Trackers Only), Privacy Report, Fraudulent Website Warning
Requires iCloud+Hide IP Address (Trackers and Websites), the full iCloud Private Relay

All of this runs the same way on the iPhone 18 Pro and on the iPhone Duo, once it ships in October, since both run the same Safari code inside iOS 27. Apple has not published a Safari privacy feature exclusive to either device.

  • Intelligent Tracking Prevention: on by default, with no separate toggle named on Apple’s Safari privacy page.
  • Hide IP Address: Settings, then Apps, then Safari, then Hide IP Address, on iPhone and iPad; Safari, then Settings, then Advanced, on Mac.
  • Privacy Report: the icon beside the address bar while a page is open, on every platform Apple documents it for.
  • Fraudulent Website Warning: the same Settings, Apps, Safari screen, listed separately from Hide IP Address.

What Apple has not said

Apple has not published a false-positive or false-negative rate for Fraudulent Website Warning, has not published how long a Privacy Report’s tracker list is retained before it clears, and has not published which specific tracker lists feed Intelligent Tracking Prevention or how often they update. The support pages describe what each feature does, not how completely it does it.

As of Saturday, September 12, 2026, each setting can be checked directly on any Safari-capable device: Trackers Only IP hiding and Fraudulent Website Warning under Settings, Apps, Safari, and the Privacy Report from the address bar controls while a page is open.