Apple's Private Relay feature blocked by some mobile carriers in the Europe, US and UK

The functionality is intended to provide customers with an extra layer of privacy, Apple says, but telecoms providers are not keen

Some mobile networks in the UK, Europe and the United States are reportedly preventing some customers from enabling Apple's iCloud Private Relay feature on their iPhones.

As reported by 9to5Mac, T-Mobile and Sprint in the US and EE in the UK are among the carriers that are blocking iCloud Private Relay access for users when they connect using cellular data.

Apple ' s Private Relay feature, which was announced at WWDC last June, is still in beta in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. The company says this functionality is intended to provide customers with an extra layer of privacy by ensuring that no one can view the websites they visit. The feature, when enabled, encrypts and routes the user's connection through two proxy servers to obfuscate their location and IP address to websites.

Private Relay functionality is not enabled by default on iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, meaning that a user must go into their device's settings to enable it. This is where some iPhone users noticed a strange message.

"Your cellular plan doesn ' t support iCloud Private Relay," the message says, according to one T-Mobile customer.

"With Private Relay turned off, this network can monitor your internet activity, and your IP address is not hidden from known trackers or websites," it adds.

On clicking the 'Learn More' button below the warning, a message from Apple explained why T-Mobile might be blocking the feature. It said that networks that require the ability to audit traffic or undertake network-based filtering will block access to Private Relay.

"Your cellular provider may be providing network-based services, such as Parental Controls, requiring them to view the traffic on your network."

A T-Mobile spokesperson told 9to5Mac that customers who have opted for plans and features with content filtering (for example, parental controls) do not have access to the iCloud Private Relay feature, in order to allow these services to perform as designed.

The spokesperson added that other T-Mobile customers are not restricted in any way.

Many consumers, however, told 9to5Mac that they do not have any such content filtering enabled on their account, but still they couldn't enable the feature on their phone.

T-Mobile is reportedly one of the European carriers that sent a joint letter to the European Commission in August 2021, expressing their concerns over the service.

In the letter seen by The Telegraph, the signatories - which included Vodafone and Telefonica - argued that the Private Relay feature prevents networks and servers from accessing critical network data and metadata, which could impact operator ' s capacity to properly manage telecommunication networks.

The operators accused Apple of "undermining European digital sovereignty" with the functionality.

Outside the EU, some network operators in the UK have also expressed their concerns over the Private Relay feature.

In its own letter, TalkTalk said that the feature would "make it more difficult to block dangerous content."

The company told The Telegraph that it was "assessing how to respond to this shift and maintain our commitments to keeping our customers safe".