Subject: Clarification Request – Private Relay and Silent Network Verification (SNV)
Hello,
Context: our app uses Silent Network Verification (SNV), the standard carrier method where the network recognizes a subscriber's connection to verify their identity without needing an SMS code. When a user has iCloud Private Relay enabled, the request path changes in a way that breaks this recognition, and the user falls back to OTP instead.
We're evaluating an approach where the app would handle DNS resolution itself for this specific verification request, so the request stays on a path our network can recognize — without the user having to turn Private Relay off.
Before we go further with this, we'd like clarity on two things:
- Would this kind of app-level DNS handling, used only for this verification step, be acceptable under the App Store Review Guidelines — or would it likely be treated as working around a user's privacy setting (for example under 2.5.1, 2.5.9, or 5.1.1)?
- If we added an explicit, transparent consent step in the app — telling the user we're bypassing Private Relay for this one request so they can be verified without an SMS code — would that change how this is viewed?
We'd rather get this in writing from Apple than build against an assumption, and we'll need to share your response with our internal IT and compliance team, so a written reply would be genuinely helpful. Happy to provide more technical detail if useful.
Thank you,