The likes of T-Mobile, AT&T, and EE are keeping users from enabling the iCloud Private Relay feature, arguing that it borks their own online safety tools.
With iOS 15, Apple introduced a privacy-centric tool called iCloud Private Relay that acts somewhat like a VPN and prevents internet service providers from logging users’ web-browsing activity. But it appears that telecom operators are not fans, as according to user reports, the likes of T-Mobile and AT&T have already started blocking it. Users trying to enable Private Relay on their phone are greeted with a service denial message that says, “Your cellular plan doesn’t support iCloud Private Relay.” The reason behind it varies, depending upon whether you live in the United States or the United Kingdom. An internal note shared by The T-Mo Report suggests that T-Mobile already offers some online protection tools to its customers. One of them is T-Mobile’s Web Guard, but Apple’s Private Relay appears to be interfering with the carrier’s service. Folks subscribed to its Home Office Internet might also face difficulties enabling Private Relay on their Apple devices, as T-Mobile’s enterprise-focused cellular-based Wi-Fi network service is bundled with its own website filtering tool.
