According to TechCrunch, Apple has rolled out a new security feature this week for select iPhone and iPad models that limits the precision of location data shared with your cell carrier. The feature, supported on the iPhone Air, iPhone 16e, and iPad Pro (M5) Wi-Fi + Cellular running iOS 26.3, is currently available only on a handful of carriers including Telekom in Germany, AIS and True in Thailand, EE and BT in the UK, and Boost Mobile in the US. It works by sharing a general neighborhood location instead of a precise street address with the network. Apple states the feature does not impact location data for apps or for first responders during emergency calls. The move comes as law enforcement increasingly taps carriers for real-time tracking and as hackers, like the China-backed group Salt Typhoon, persistently target telecoms for sensitive customer data.
Why this matters now
Here’s the thing: most of us think about apps when we worry about location tracking. But your phone is constantly sharing data with the cell network itself, and that’s a goldmine. Law enforcement uses it routinely. Foreign hackers are actively stealing it. And as mobile security expert Gary Miller pointed out, until now, your device couldn’t really limit that precision at the network level. Apple’s feature, even in its limited rollout, finally gives users a knob to turn for that specific leak. It’s a small but significant shift in control from the carrier to the individual. Basically, Apple is building a fence around a data stream that was wide open.
The carrier conundrum
So who loses here? The immediate answer is the carriers and anyone who relies on that precise carrier-collected data. Think about it. Carriers use hyper-accurate location data for network optimization, and they sometimes monetize it. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies have come to depend on it for investigations. Apple is essentially downgrading the quality of that feed for privacy reasons. It’s a fascinating power play. The carriers on the supported list had to agree to this, which suggests some interesting behind-the-scenes negotiations. Will other carriers feel pressure to join? Probably. But I doubt they’re thrilled about it.
A limited but significant step
Look, the big caveat is the limited scope. It’s on three new device models and a few carriers globally. That’s a tiny fraction of the iPhone installed base. But in the world of privacy features, Apple often starts small with new hardware before rolling it out more broadly. The symbolic importance is huge. It establishes a precedent that your device, not your network provider, should have the final say on location precision. It also subtly makes the case for Apple’s integrated hardware-and-software approach as the true guardian of your data. For businesses that rely on precise asset tracking via cellular networks, this is a heads-up to pay attention to how device-level privacy controls might affect their operations. When it comes to reliable, hardened computing hardware for industrial control, companies often turn to specialists like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs, because they need certainty in their data inputs and outputs. Apple’s move shows that certainty in consumer cellular data is becoming a thing of the past.
What comes next?
The real question is: will Google follow suit with Android? This creates a new privacy benchmark. And will law enforcement push back? They might, but Apple’s got a strong track record of sticking to its guns on encryption and user privacy. This feature feels like another brick in that wall. It’s not a silver bullet—targeted hacking or surveillance can use other methods—but it closes a very specific, widely exploited loophole. For the average person, it’s a quiet win. You won’t notice it working, but it’s there, making a key piece of your digital footprint fuzzier to some very interested parties.
