A new security feature rolling out to select latest iPhone and iPad models this week will make it harder for law enforcement, spies and malicious hackers to get precise location data from phone providers.
According to Apple, the new feature, when enabled, limit the accuracy of location data iPhones and iPads are mobile-enabled with the customer’s mobile operator. Showing less precise locations, such as public neighborhoods rather than street addresses, will help protect device owners’ privacy, the company said.
Apple says that enabling the feature does not affect the precision of location data shared by apps, or shared with first responders during emergency calls.
The exact location feature is supported on iPhone Air, iPhone 16e, and iPad Pro (M5) Wi-Fi + Cellular, running iOS 26.3, and is available on several 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 give a reason for introducing the new feature, and an Apple spokesperson would not comment on the record when reached by email.
The new feature comes at a time when law enforcement agencies are increasingly tapping mobile carriers to access individual location data to track them in real time, or check where they are. travel through time periods.
Hackers also often target cell operators for the sensitive data they collect on their customers. In the past year, several US phone giants, including AT&T and Verizon, have confirmed constant intrusions by Chinese-backed hackersnicknamed Salt Typhoon, seeking call logs and messages from senior American officials.
In addition to new threats, long-known vulnerabilities in global mobile networks allow surveillance vendors snoop on individual location data anywhere in the world.
While telecommunications operators can determine the approximate location of a person’s phone, the person’s own device has a role in providing accurate location data back to the operator, said Gary Miller, a mobile security expert who serves as a Citizen Lab researcher and senior director of network intelligence at iVerify.
“Most people don’t realize that devices can transmit location data outside of just the app,” Miller said. “While (devices) can limit GPS disclosure at the app level, they haven’t been able to lock down the disclosure of your exact location to the network.”
“Apple’s feature, while limited to a few carrier networks, is a step in the right direction to provide users with greater privacy control,” he said.