It's always been configurable on a per-network basis. Apple has changed it to some odd, assumptive, defaults now because their new approach will break a number of common network situations.

Also, if you read through comments on how it's been working in the betas it doesn't seem as though it's been working as expected for a number of folks. The Android implementation is a better design, IMO. Persistent / non-persistent "privacy" is an easier follow. Also, many folks want the capabilities of both modes depending on the networks they're connecting to and the devices they're managing touching specific networks. I feel as though Apple is going backwards in a way with this new change, I won't be upgrading to iOS 18 or macOS Sequoia for the foreseeable future though given all the things Apple is adding.