Apple services

What is privatecloudcomputed?

privatecloudcomputed encrypts and sends some Apple Intelligence requests to Apple's Private Cloud Compute servers. Requests that the Mac's own model can handle stay on the Mac.

Process: privatecloudcomputedMade by AppleApplies to: macOS 15 Sequoia and later, on Macs that support Apple Intelligence. Checked on macOS 27.2.Checked: 1 November 2026

Short answer

Part of macOS. It encrypts and sends Apple Intelligence requests that need a larger model to Apple's Private Cloud Compute servers.

Block with care

Blocking it stops Apple Intelligence features that need Private Cloud Compute. On-device features keep working.

Path
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/PrivateCloudCompute.framework/privatecloudcomputed.app/Contents/MacOS/privatecloudcomputed
launchd label
com.apple.privatecloudcomputed
Signing identifier
com.apple.privatecloudcomputed

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.

It is an app in the PrivateCloudCompute framework, started for each user as com.apple.privatecloudcomputed.

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

Apple lists apple-relay.cloudflare.com, apple-relay.fastly-edge.com and cp4.cloudflare.com for Private Cloud Compute.

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.
  • Relays. Apple lists hosts in Cloudflare's and Fastly's domains for Private Cloud Compute, so its traffic can go to them.

How much is normal

When you use Apple Intelligence, some traffic is expected. Each request and answer is small next to a download.

macOS can list each request that it sent. The Apple Intelligence Report is in Privacy & Security.

Without Apple Intelligence, it is quiet.

When it uses a lot, and why

  • Long or many requests. Writing tools on long documents and many requests in a row send more. Images in a request are larger than text.

Is it safe to block?

Block with care

Blocking it stops Apple Intelligence features that need Private Cloud Compute. On-device features keep working.

What breaks if you block it

  • Apple Intelligence requests that need a larger model fail.
  • Features that use Private Cloud Compute, as listed in the Apple Intelligence Report, stop working.

Blocking means a firewall rule that refuses its connections. Don’t quit or disable a macOS process to save data: macOS starts it again, and other features depend on it.

Reduce its use

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

  2. To see what was sent, open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Apple Intelligence Report.

  3. Don't quit privatecloudcomputed in Activity Monitor. macOS starts it again.

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 since it started.

  3. In Terminal, watch only this process. Press d to show the change per second, and q to quit. nettop cuts names to 15 characters.

    nettop -p 'privatecloudcom' -P

With Kilobat

  1. In the Kilobat app list, search for privatecloudcomputed. Its row shows the live rate and what it moved today.

  2. In Connections, click the ⓘ button on one of its rows. The popover shows this page’s short answer, without going online.

  3. In Terminal, ask the same question. Add --json for scripts and agents.

    kilobat explain 'privatecloudcomputed'

  4. Show its traffic over one day.

    kilobat bandwidth 'privatecloudcomputed' day

  5. Through MCP, an AI agent asks explain_connection with the process name. It gets the same facts.

The live view and the explanations are free. History in the app needs Kilobat Pro. Blocking needs Pro and the network filter: see the network filter, Protection and the hotspot data saver.

Hosts it contacts

Apple and the maker document these hosts for this feature. A process can also contact others; Kilobat’s Connections tab shows what it actually opens on your Mac.

apple-relay.cloudflare.comHosts on Cloudflare and Fastly that Apple lists for Private Cloud Compute, where some Apple Intelligence requests are processed.Apple, through Cloudflare and Fastly →apple-relay.apple.comThe Apple host that Apple lists for Apple Intelligence Extensions.Apple →

What isn’t documented

Apple doesn't document which requests go to Private Cloud Compute instead of the on-device model. The Apple Intelligence Report lists the ones that did.

Questions

Is my data kept on Apple's servers?

Apple says that Private Cloud Compute uses your data only for the request, and that Apple can't access it.

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.

Does Kilobat's on-device explanation use Private Cloud Compute?

No. Kilobat asks only the on-device model in Apple's Foundation Models framework, and never Private Cloud Compute.

Sources

Checked on 1 November 2026.