macOS processes

What is privatecloudcomputed on Mac?

privatecloudcomputed encrypts and sends some Apple Intelligence requests to Apple's Private Cloud Compute servers.

Process: privatecloudcomputedApplies to: macOS 15 and later, on Macs that support Apple Intelligence. Seen on macOS 27.2.Checked: 29 October 2026

Where you see it

  • privatecloudcomputed is in the list in Activity Monitor › Network, in nettop or in Kilobat.
  • A firewall or network monitor asks if privatecloudcomputed can connect.
  • Traffic appears after you use Apple Intelligence features.

What it is

The man page says that it “handles encrypting and sending requests to validated cloud compute nodes”. It first appeared in macOS 15.

Apple says that Private Cloud Compute uses only the data needed for a request, and that Apple cannot access it.

Why it uses the network

  • Larger Apple Intelligence requests. Some requests need a larger model than the one on the Mac. These go to Private Cloud Compute.

Is it normal?

Yes, when you use Apple Intelligence. macOS can list each request that it sent.

See how much it uses

  1. Open Activity Monitor from Applications > Utilities. Click Network.

  2. Type privatecloudcomputed in the search field. The Sent Bytes and Rcvd Bytes columns show what it moved.

  3. In Terminal, watch only this process. Press d to show the change per second, and q to quit.

    nettop -p privatecloudcom -P

  4. nettop shows only the first 15 characters of a name. So use privatecloudcom, as above.

  5. Choose Apple menu > System Settings > Privacy & Security. Click Apple Intelligence Report.

  6. Choose 15 minutes or 7 days. Click Export Activity to save the report as a JSON file.

Reduce or pause it safely

  1. Use fewer Apple Intelligence features, or turn Apple Intelligence off in System Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri.

  2. Do not quit privatecloudcomputed in Activity Monitor. It is part of macOS, and other features depend on it.

With Kilobat

  1. Open the Kilobat app list and search for privatecloudcomputed. Its row shows the live rate and the bytes it moved.

  2. In Terminal, see the same live list. Press / and type the name to search.

    kilobat status --watch

  3. Show its traffic over one day. Names match kilobat report --summary.

    kilobat bandwidth privatecloudcom day

  4. Through MCP, an AI agent gets the same history with get_app_bandwidth and the name privatecloudcom.

  5. The live view is free. History in the app needs Pro. Kilobat records history only while the app runs.

Questions

Can I see what was sent?

Yes. The Apple Intelligence Report in Privacy & Security lists the requests that the Mac sent to Private Cloud Compute.

Sources

Sources checked on 29 October 2026. Man pages are the ones installed with macOS; open one with man <name> in Terminal.