Apple's iPhone privacy feature could be banned after phone companies complain it stops them tracking people

Mobile phone operators have urged regulators to ban Apple's "private relay" feature. The feature, which was introduced in iOS 15 and is in beta as a part of Apple's iCloud subscription, makes it harder for companies to track users' activities online. This is similar to a VPN – since Apple relays web traffic through Safari and then a third-party partner, as Wired explains - but Apple does not allow users to change the device's geographic location. Its intention is to stop network providers and websites from tracking users' IP address and DNS records, which makes it harder for them to build profiles of users and target them online. However, as reported by The Telegraph, companies including Vodafone, Telefonica, Orange and T-Mobile express concerns that it would block access to data that supports their network and protects users from harmful online material.