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

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.

icloud private relay change ios 15 3
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!)

Related Forum: iOS 15

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
macbook pro blue green

When Will Apple Release the M5 MacBook Pro?

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:53 pm PDT by
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall. Design There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
iOS 18 4 Ambient Music Control Center

How to Use iOS 18.4's New Ambient Music Feature in Control Center

Thursday March 27, 2025 7:45 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone adds an Ambient Music feature to Control Center. Below, we take a closer look at how it works. iOS 18.4 is currently in beta, so the Ambient Music feature is not widely available yet. The update will likely be released to the general public next week. To use the feature on iOS 18.4, open Control Center and tap on the plus sign in the top-left...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

'iPhone Fold' to Feature Metallic Glass Hinge That Resists Deformation

Thursday March 27, 2025 4:21 am PDT by
Last week, we covered a report claiming that Apple's book-style foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold," as we are provisionally calling it here) will use liquid metal hinges to improve durability and help minimize screen creasing. Today, a Chinese leaker provided more details on the properties of this hinge material that help to clarify why Apple chose it for its first foldable device. According...

Top Rated Comments

nwcs Avatar
42 months ago
Now if they can make this functionality work across all network activity on the iOS device instead of just Safari I'll be happy.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LivingMyBeachLife Avatar
42 months ago

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.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RouterCFW Avatar
42 months ago
If a carrier blocks private relay I’m changing carrier Simple as that I’m not staying with a carrier that wants my data
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Westside guy Avatar
42 months ago
So basically all the stories stating that these carriers were blocking it... were incorrect?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mdracer Avatar
42 months ago
***Checks Carrier and Relay Settings***

'Still enabled' So my monthly payment to them continues...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bandaman Avatar
42 months ago
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.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)