Is there any positive or negative using an MPR in combination with a Traditional VPN? For example, Proton VPN with iCloud Relay enabled on the device?
If I’m not mistaken, it would be similar to using a VPN + TOR.
A setup like this is fine:
- You → VPN → MPR → Internet
A setup like this undermines any benefit of the MPR and places absolute trust in the VPN provider:
- You → MPR → VPN → Internet
- You → VPN → MPR → VPN → Internet
- Any other configuration
(Path visualization adapted from Privacy Guides, also recommended for further reading.)
That sounds probably about right, although I’m not sure how iCloud Private Relay specifically works on a technical level. It’s very possible, knowing Apple, that Private Relay traffic bypasses regular VPN traffic.
If that is the case then having it enabled could potentially reduce your privacy, if you’re expecting everything to go through Proton VPN but that isn’t actually happening.
I was imagining MPRs more generally rather than specifically iCloud Private Relay.
It seems you are correct though, according to this PDF from Apple:
“If a device has a VPN installed, for either enterprise or personal reasons, traffic that goes through the VPN will not use Private Relay.”
That being said, you could probably use a network-wide VPN, which would allow you to use Private Relay while overcoming the location restrictions.