Apple Clarifies iCloud Private Relay Wording in iOS 15.3 to Prevent Confusion Over Carrier Support

[MacRumors]

In today's iOS 15.3 beta, Apple has updated the wording that people see when iCloud Private Relay is disabled for a cellular or WiFi network, clarifying that when it's off, it's not always because of a lack of carrier support.

The new message says that Private Relay is turned off, but it explains that either a cellular plan does not support it or that it has been deactivated in Cellular Settings.

In iOS 15.2 and prior iOS 15.3 betas, if iCloud Private Relay was disabled for a cellular plan, Apple placed all of the blame on the carrier. Here's the previous wording:

"Private Relay is turned off for your cellular plan. Your cellular plan doesn't support iCloud Private Relay. With iCloud Private Relay turned off, this network can monitor your internet activity, and your IP address is not hidden from known trackers or websites."

And the new wording:

"Private Relay is turned off for your cellular plan. Private Relay is either not supported by your cellular plan or has been turned off in Cellular Settings. With Private Relay turned off, this network can monitor your internet activity, and your IP address is not hidden from known trackers or websites."

Apple's current wording does not allow for the possibility that iCloud Private Relay is unavailable because it has been disabled in the Settings app. iCloud Private Relay can be turned on or turned off for specific WiFi and cellular networks, and there may be an iOS 15.2 bug that is causing some users to have these settings disabled by default.

Going to your Cellular Settings and toggling on "Limit IP Address Tracking" will ensure that iCloud Private Relay is active for your cellular network, while going to WiFi, tapping the "i" button next to your network and toggling on "Limit IP Address Tracking" will turn it on for your WiFi network if it's not already enabled.

Apple's vague iCloud Private Relay wording got T-Mobile in some hot water earlier this week. The carrier was accused of disabling iCloud Private Relay for its users, preventing them from using the privacy-enhancing feature. Apple's messaging placed the blame on T-Mobile even if iCloud Private Relay was disabled simply due to being toggled off in the Settings app.

T-Mobile was silent on the accusations for a day, and then clarified that there appears to be an iOS 15.2 bug that can cause device settings for the Private Relay feature to be toggled to off. T-Mobile contacted Apple, and Apple updated its support document to instruct people how to make sure their settings are correct, and now the Cupertino company has also added this information into the iCloud Private Relay settings.

The major U.S. carriers, including T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T have all confirmed that they are not blocking iCloud Private Relay and do not have plans to do so. For T-Mobile users who have content filtering like parental controls enabled, iCloud Private Relay will be disabled because the services are not able to work with the feature turned on.

(Thanks, Steve Moser!)

Article Link: Apple Clarifies iCloud Private Relay Wording in iOS 15.3 to Prevent Confusion Over Carrier Support

 

[RouterCFW]

If a carrier blocks private relay I’m changing carrier Simple as that I’m not staying with a carrier that wants my data

 

[nwcs]

Now if they can make this functionality work across all network activity on the iOS device instead of just Safari I'll be happy.

 

[BuffaloTF]

Now if they can make this functionality work across all network activity on the iOS device instead of just Safari I'll be happy.

I prefer it the way it is. It throws off location verification as well, which is of great importance for things like media streaming. IE, if YouTube TV thinks I’m in a different city, I only get 30 days of service before I’m in violation and I lose my locals the whole time. That’s fine for vacation, but not permanently.

 

[ouimetnick]

If a carrier blocks private relay I’m changing carrier Simple as that I’m not staying with a carrier that wants my data

What if all of your carrier options block it then? No cell phone then?

 

[Westside guy]

So basically all the stories stating that these carriers were blocking it... were incorrect?

 

[Mdracer]

***Checks Carrier and Relay Settings***

'Still enabled' So my monthly payment to them continues...

 

[CarlJ]

If a carrier blocks private relay I’m changing carrier Simple as that I’m not staying with a carrier that wants my data

Have you read the articles (and updates), or just the headlines?

The problem on T-Mobile appears to be if you have T-Mobile's content filtering turned on for whatever reason. They can't very well filter what they can't see.

 

[Bandaman]

Get a VPN and set it to auto connect on any network (Wi-Fi or cellular). No need for this. It’s buggy anyway and noticeably slows connection speeds.

 

[LivingMyBeachLife]

If a carrier blocks private relay I’m changing carrier Simple as that I’m not staying with a carrier that wants my data

I don't understand your argument here. Private relay currently only applies to Safari and the Apple Mail app. So if you use Google Chrome or Firefox as your browser, the carrier still has visibility. Use the Gmail or Outlook or Yahoo Mail client, the carrier sees your data. Use any other application, the carrier sees your data. If you are concerned, swiching carriers is not your solution. Using a VPN instead of iCloud Private relay is what your solution.

 

[aplnub]

Now if they can make this functionality work across all network activity on the iOS device instead of just Safari I'll be happy.

That is what VPN's are for.

 

[sw1tcher]

So basically all the stories stating that these carriers were blocking it... were incorrect?

Yes, but that won't stop some people here from blaming the carriers though

 

[BWhaler]

Now if they can make this functionality work across all network activity on the iOS device instead of just Safari I'll be happy.

This Is the privacy game changer we need.

 

[applicious84]

.

 

[Bandaman]

What happened to that thing where apple scans your photos. Someone told me not to upgrade to ios 15 because of that

They're scanning your photos for CSAM, but all cloud services do this. Apple was actually already doing this for years, but now they're using your phone to scan photos first before they go to the cloud. You can disable storing photos in the cloud if you don't want Apple scanning anything. People are upset because it's a slippery slope.

 

[agoodpub]

If a carrier blocks private relay I’m changing carrier Simple as that I’m not staying with a carrier that wants my data

However did you manage before?

 

[cyanite]

What happened to that thing where apple scans your photos. Someone told me not to upgrade to ios 15 because of that

I guess they were uninformed.

They're scanning your photos for CSAM, but all cloud services do this.

It's unclear to what extent Apple scans the cloud library, but it's also not what the person you're replying to is talking about.

 

[Bandaman]

It's unclear to what extent Apple scans the cloud library, but it's also not what the person you're replying to is talking about.

What else would they be talking about?

 

[Scottsoapbox]

Just get a VPN.