{"id":276021,"date":"2026-02-01T22:43:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T22:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/276021\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T22:43:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T22:43:09","slug":"new-apple-privacy-feature-limits-location-tracking-on-iphones-ipads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/276021\/","title":{"rendered":"New Apple privacy feature limits location tracking on iPhones, iPads"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Apple\"<\/p>\n

Apple is introducing a new privacy feature that lets users\u00a0limit the precision of location data shared with cellular\u00a0networks on some iPhone and iPad models.<\/p>\n

The “Limit Precise Location” setting will be\u00a0available after upgrading\u00a0to iOS 26.3 or\u00a0later, and it works by restricting\u00a0the information mobile carriers use to determine\u00a0device locations via cell tower connections.\u00a0When enabled, cellular networks can only identify the device’s approximate location, such as a neighborhood, rather than a precise street address.<\/p>\n

“The limit precise location setting doesn’t impact the precision of the location data that is shared with emergency responders during an emergency call,”\u00a0Apple said<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Wiz\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“This setting affects only the location data available to cellular networks. It doesn’t impact the location data that you share with apps through Location Services. For example, it has no impact on sharing your location with friends and family with Find My.”<\/p>\n

Users can enable the feature by opening “Settings,” tapping “Cellular,” then “Cellular Data Options,” and toggling the\u00a0“Limit Precise Location”\u00a0setting. After enabling limited precise location, the system may prompt a device restart to\u00a0complete activation.<\/p>\n

The privacy enhancement feature currently works only on iPhone Air, iPhone\u00a016e, and iPad Pro (M5) Wi-Fi + Cellular models running iOS 26.3 or later.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Availability depends on carrier support, and currently supported mobile networks include\u00a0Telekom in Germany, EE and BT in the United Kingdom, Boost Mobile in the United States, and AIS and True\u00a0in Thailand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Apple has yet to share why it’s introducing this feature, the\u00a0Federal Communications Commission (FCC)\u00a0fined the\u00a0largest U.S. wireless carriers<\/a>\u00a0almost $200 million in April 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The list of fines includes\u00a0$80 million for\u00a0T-Mobile<\/a>\u00a0and $12 million for\u00a0Sprint<\/a>\u00a0(which have since merged), more than $57 million for\u00a0AT&T<\/a>, and nearly $47 million for\u00a0Verizon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since cellular networks can easily track device locations via tower connections for network operations, Apple’s new privacy feature (currently\u00a0supported by only a small number of networks) is a big step towards ensuring\u00a0that carriers can collect only limited data on their customers’\u00a0movements and habits.<\/p>\n

BleepingComputer reached out to Apple for more details, but a response was not immediately available.<\/p>\n


\n \"tines\"\/
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

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In this new Tines guide, learn how your team can reduce hidden manual delays, improve reliability through automated response, and build and scale intelligent workflows on top of tools you already use.<\/p>\n

Get the guide<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apple is introducing a new privacy feature that lets users\u00a0limit the precision of location data shared with cellular\u00a0networks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276022,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[61,60,202,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-276021","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-mobile","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}