A new security feature rolled out to select models of the latest iPhones and iPads will make it more difficult for law enforcement, spies, and malicious hackers to obtain a person’s precise location data from their phone provider. According to Apple, the new feature, when enabled, limits the precision of location data that iPhones and cellular-enabled iPads share with the customer’s cell carrier. Sharing a less precise location, such as the general neighborhood rather than a street address, will help protect the device owner’s privacy, the company claims.[1]
Apple said enabling the feature does not affect the precision of location data shared with apps or with first responders during an emergency call. The limit precise location feature is supported on iPhone Air, iPhone 16e, and iPad Pro (M5) Wi-Fi + Cellular, running iOS 26.3, and is available on a handful of global carriers, including Telekom in Germany, AIS and True Thailand, EE and BT in the United Kingdom, and Boost Mobile in the United States.
The company did not provide a reason for introducing the new feature, and a spokesperson for Apple declined to comment on the record when contacted by email. The new feature arrives as law enforcement agencies increasingly rely on cell carriers to access individuals' location data to track them in real time or examine where they have traveled over time.
Hackers also frequently target cell carriers for the sensitive data that they collect on their customers. Over the past year, several U.S. phone giants, including AT&T and Verizon, have confirmed persistent intrusions by China-backed hackers, known as Salt Typhoon, who are seeking phone call logs and messages of senior American officials. Recent threats aside, long-known vulnerabilities in global cellular networks have enabled surveillance vendors to access individuals' location data worldwide.
While telecom operators can determine a person’s phone’s approximate location, the device itself plays a role in providing accurate location data to the carrier, said Gary Miller, a mobile security expert who serves as a Citizen Lab researcher and senior director of network intelligence at iVerify. “Most people aren’t aware that devices can send location data outside of just apps,” said Miller. “While [the devices] can limit GPS disclosure at the app level, they haven’t been able to lock down precise location disclosure to the network. Apple’s feature, while limited to very few operator networks, is a step in the right direction in providing users with greater privacy controls,” he said.
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[1] https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/29/apples-new-iphone-and-ipad-security-feature-limits-cell-networks-from-collecting-precise-location-data/
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