A new security feature rolled out to select models of the latest iPhones and iPads this week 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 to protect the device owner’s privacy, the company claims.
Apple said switching on the feature does not affect the precision of location data shared with apps, or shared 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 the Boost Mobile in United States.
The company did not give a reason for introducing the new feature, and a spokesperson for Apple would not comment on the record when reached by email.
The new feature lands at a time when law enforcement agencies are increasingly tapping cell carriers to access the location data of individuals for tracking them in real-time, or examining where they have traveled over a period of 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, dubbed Salt Typhoon, seeking phone call logs and messages of senior American officials.
Recent threats aside, long-known vulnerabilities in global cellular networks have allowed surveillance vendors to snoop on the location data of individuals anywhere in the world.
While telecom operators can determine the approximate location of a person’s phone, the person’s device itself plays a part in providing accurate location data back 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.