Private Cloud Compute: what it is and how to check it

What privatecloudcomputed is

privatecloudcomputed is the part of iOS and macOS that sends requests to Private Cloud Compute. Apple's October 2024 source release names "the privatecloudcomputed daemon that runs on a user's device", and on the Mac its manual page calls it the private cloud compute offload daemon, which encrypts requests and sends them to validated cloud compute nodes. You do not start or stop it yourself.

Firewall apps on the Mac can show its connections. Apple lists apple-relay.cloudflare.com, apple-relay.fastly-edge.com and cp4.cloudflare.com as the hosts Private Cloud Compute needs, on port 443.

How to see what went to Private Cloud Compute

On iPhone, open Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Apple Intelligence & PCC Report, and choose a report duration of 15 minutes or 7 days. Earlier versions of iOS call it Apple Intelligence Report. It lists the requests that left the device for Private Cloud Compute, and you can export it as a file named Apple_Intelligence_Report.json.

Where it runs now

Private Cloud Compute started on Apple's own servers with Apple silicon. On June 8, 2026 Apple announced that new Apple Intelligence workloads also run on Google Cloud, using NVIDIA Confidential Computing with NVIDIA GPUs, Intel CPUs with TDX and Google's Titan chip.

Apple says its five core requirements stay the same there: stateless computation, enforceable guarantees, no privileged runtime access, non-targetability and verifiable transparency. It publishes the software images for security research and pays bounties of up to $1,000,000 for a remote attack on request data.

Which iPhones use it

Private Cloud Compute comes with Apple Intelligence, so it needs an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence: iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 models or later, iPhone Air and iPhone Duo. It needs a network connection.

Apps that use Private Cloud Compute

With iOS 27, apps can send requests to Apple's model on Private Cloud Compute through the Foundation Models framework. Each person gets a daily request limit, and developers in Apple's Small Business Program with fewer than 2 million first-time downloads can use it at no cloud cost.

Orvena is one of these apps. On iOS 27 with Premium Unlock, you can pick Private Cloud Compute as the engine for a conversation, next to Orvena's own model that runs on the iPhone, Apple's on-device model and cloud models through your own OpenRouter key. Orvena asks before health or financial data goes to any cloud model.

Common questions

Does Private Cloud Compute work in the EU?

Apple does not say it in one sentence, but the features that use it are there. Apple's support page says the next generation of Apple Intelligence, including the new Image Playground, is available to users in the EU with iOS 27, and Apple's privacy page names Image Playground as a feature that sends requests to Private Cloud Compute. Siri AI, which is not available on iPhone in the EU, is a separate question.

Does Apple keep what I send to Private Cloud Compute?

Apple says no. Its privacy page says the data "is not stored or made accessible to Apple" and is processed only to fulfill your request, after which the results return to your device and are not retained.

Does Private Cloud Compute work offline?

No. It runs on servers, so it needs a connection. Apple's on-device model and Orvena's own model work offline.

Is Private Cloud Compute the same as Google Gemini?

No. Apple says it built the Siri AI models in collaboration with Google and its Gemini models, and since June 2026 some Private Cloud Compute workloads run on Google Cloud. Apple says the same Private Cloud Compute requirements apply there as on its own servers.

Sources

• Apple Security Research, June 10, 2024: Private Cloud Compute
• Apple Security Research, June 8, 2026: Expanding Private Cloud Compute
• Apple Security Research, October 24, 2024: Security research on Private Cloud Compute
• Apple Support: Use Apple products on enterprise networks
• Apple: Apple Intelligence and privacy
• Apple Support: How to get the next generation of Apple Intelligence
• Apple Developer: Private Cloud Compute