The company says the scheme will allow its customers to keep track of how much of their mobile phone data allowance they are using on particular sites. This will help resolve billing disputes when customers believe they have been overcharged, it said.

Most telcos do not store such data and Telstra has indicated it has no plans to create such a scheme.

The Vodafone announcement comes as the federal government continues to consult on a scheme that would require telecommunications companies – and perhaps also social media companies – to store customer records defined as metadata for two years.

While acknowledging it would have to develop policies to address privacy concerns, Vodafone told a Senate inquiry on Friday that customers would welcome access to more information about their mobile data usage. The inquiry is reviewing the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act.

"Consumers are wanting to know how much of their data they're using on Facebook or on Twitter," ‎Vodafone's general manager industry strategy and public policy, Matthew Lobb, said.

"We think that the majority of customers will appreciate knowing how they use their data and what they use their data for."

Mr Lobb said billing details for mobile data usage had traditionally covered how much data customers were using rather than what they were using it for.

Vodafone only plans to store the details of the websites customers visit rather than specific pages. For example, customers will be able to see that they have visited Facebook but not which friends' pages they have accessed.

Mr Lobb said the ability to link IP addresses – which identify websites – to individual customers is not fully developed and that the scheme is still in its infancy.

In a later appearance at the inquiry, Telstra representatives said this was the first they had heard of Vodafone's scheme and that they have no plans to introduce one.

The government has said that any mandatory data retention regime will not involve web browsing history or the content of emails or calls.

A leaked consultation paper shows the regime is likely to include phone numbers called, the time of calls, the location of calls and customers' date of birth, financial and billing data.

Telcos have warned that such a regime may cost $100 million a year to administer and could lead to higher bills for customers if the government does not cover the costs of storing and handling the data.