diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index d13bf7e8..150f09c3 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -72,7 +72,6 @@ full = [
     "http1",
     "http2",
     "tokio",
-    "tracing",
 ]
 
 client = ["hyper/client", "tokio/net", "dep:tracing", "dep:futures-channel", "dep:tower-service"]
@@ -92,7 +91,13 @@ http2 = ["hyper/http2"]
 
 tokio = ["dep:tokio", "tokio/rt", "tokio/time"]
 
-tracing = ["dep:tracing"]
+# Currently unused feature. This previously attached the current span to all futures executed by
+# `TokioExecutor`, which would incorrectly extend application-level spans beyond their correct
+# endpoints due to asynchronous background tasks running under those spans. This is documented in
+# https://github.com/hyperium/hyper/issues/3904. Clients wishing to add spans to executed futures
+# should manually attach them to the futures provided to `TokioExecutor::execute`, or create their
+# own implementation of `Executor<Fut>` to attach spans as required by their particular context.
+tracing = []
 
 # internal features used in CI
 __internal_happy_eyeballs_tests = []
diff --git a/src/rt/tokio.rs b/src/rt/tokio.rs
index bd5fd50f..e6346229 100644
--- a/src/rt/tokio.rs
+++ b/src/rt/tokio.rs
@@ -61,9 +61,6 @@ use std::{
 use hyper::rt::{Executor, Sleep, Timer};
 use pin_project_lite::pin_project;
 
-#[cfg(feature = "tracing")]
-use tracing::instrument::Instrument;
-
 pub use self::{with_hyper_io::WithHyperIo, with_tokio_io::WithTokioIo};
 
 mod with_hyper_io;
@@ -108,10 +105,6 @@ where
     Fut::Output: Send + 'static,
 {
     fn execute(&self, fut: Fut) {
-        #[cfg(feature = "tracing")]
-        tokio::spawn(fut.in_current_span());
-
-        #[cfg(not(feature = "tracing"))]
         tokio::spawn(fut);
     }
 }