# istio_drop-default-tracing.yaml
apiVersion: release-notes/v2
kind: feature
area: telemetry
releaseNotes:
  - |
    **Removed** default tracing configuration that enables tracing to `zipkin.istio-system.svc`. See upgrade notes for more information.
upgradeNotes:
  - title: Default tracing to `zipkin.istio-system.svc` removed
    content: |
      In previous versions of Istio, tracing was automatically configured to send traces to `zipkin.istio-system.svc`.
      This default setting has been removed; users will need to explicitly configure where to send traces moving forward.

      `istioctl x precheck --from-version=1.21` can automatically detect if you may be impacted by this change.

      If you previously had tracing enabled implicitly, you can enable it by doing one of:
      * Installing with `--set compatibilityVersion=1.21`.
      * Following [Configure tracing with Telemetry API](/docs/tasks/observability/distributed-tracing/telemetry-api/).