Service Providers Express Irritation Over Apple's Latest Privacy Enhancement [Revised]
Apple's new privacy feature, Private Relay for iPhones, is causing quite a stir among some carriers. They're doing everything in their power to hinder the feature before it reaches your device. Announced at WWDC last year, Private Relay is part of iCloud+, a service that safeguards your web traffic by filtering requests through encrypted VPN-like channels. It shields you from ISPs and websites that might abuse your DNS records and IP address, collecting data to create profiles and serve tailored ads.
Apple's encryption method is unique. Instead of tunneling your data, as a VPN does, Private Relay encrypts it before passing it through an Apple-managed proxy server. This server separates the DNS request from your IP address, then sends it to an anonymous "trusted partner" which uses a fake approximate IP address. While it has limitations—it works only in Safari, requires a paid iCloud+ subscription, and doesn't conceal your region—most consider it a valuable privacy tool, albeit not a full-fledged VPN.
European carriers are less than thrilled, as reported by The Telegraph. They've signed an open letter accusing Apple of hindering their ability to manage networks and infringing upon EU digital sovereignty. They argue that the feature undermines digital independence and hampers innovation and competition in the digital market.
Operators are hoping the European Commission will tag Apple as a "digital gatekeeper," which could halt services such as Private Relay. Some US-based carriers are reportedly blocking Private Relay, with T-Mobile/Sprint being at the forefront of this endeavor. Reports claim that T-Mobile may be gradually implementing this change, but leaked documents from The T-Mo Report suggest that customers with certain content filtering and blocking features, like T-Mobile's Web Guard, can't access the feature.
T-Mobile later clarified that these content filtering plans can't coexist with Private Relay because it disrupts the features' functioning. A representative confirmed that an iOS 15.2 bug caused these settings to default to the feature being disabled, and the company shared its findings with Apple. T-Mobile maintained that it didn't broadly block the feature and only affected customers with content filtering plans.
Private Relay is in the public beta phase in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey. By default, it's disabled and must be manually enabled within Settings.
In related news, after confirming that Private Relay isn't accessible for customers on specific content filtering plans, T-Mobile informed Gizmodo that its analysis of iOS 15.2 discovered "some device settings" that inadvertently disable the feature. The company shared this discovery with Apple and confirmed that it didn't intentionally block the feature.
- Some US-based carriers, like T-Mobile/Sprint, are attempting to block Apple's Privacy Relay feature due to concerns about network management and digital independence.
- The unique encryption method of Private Relay, which encrypts data before passing it through an Apple-managed proxy server, has also drawn the attention of tech giants in the VPN industry.
- As part of its efforts to enhance user privacy, Apple's Private Relay feature uses VPN-like channels to filter requests through encrypted channels, potentially impacting the future of the VPN industry.
- With the increasing use of iOS devices and the rise in digital privacy concerns, tech giants and carrier companies must address the implications of features like Apple's Private Relay on internet traffic and data collection practices.
