iPhone: Apple modem to hide precise location from mobile carriers
With iOS 26.3, Apple's mobile chip gets a special feature – also in Germany: iPhones are to reveal less precise location data to network operators.
(Image: Sebastian Trepesch / heise medien)
Apple is giving its in-house mobile modem a first unique selling proposition: From the upcoming iOS version 26.3, it will be able to reduce the accuracy of location data that network operators can view. The manufacturer explains this in a support document. The corresponding setting is already available in the beta of the operating system and is currently activated by default. Mobile providers will thus only be able to locate the iPhone roughly, for example, at the level of a city district, and no longer view a "more precise location," as Apple states.
The precise location via GPS or GNSS for apps and services will not be affected by this, Apple emphasized. In the case of emergency calls, it is also ensured that the most exact location possible will continue to be transmitted to the control center. For this purpose, AML is also used on iPhones.
Rough neighborhood location instead of house number
Apple has so far remained silent on the technical details of the new privacy and security feature. It is known that network operators must also cooperate for this. In Germany, currently only Telekom is on board, and Apple's short list also includes EE and BT in Great Britain, Boost Mobile in the USA, and two Thai mobile providers.
"The precision required for fine location will be restricted," a Telekom spokesperson confirmed the support of the feature to Mac & i. Ultimately, this means that only an approximate location at the level of a neighborhood or district will be possible for the network operator, and "no longer street or house number."
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Apple's first own baseband processors, C1 and C1X, are currently still rare; they are only found in the iPhone Air, the iPhone 16e, and the iPad Pro M5. Observers expect that an Apple mobile modem will also find its way into the best-selling product line with the iPhone 18 Pro in the fall.
High interest in smartphone location data
Usually, location data of smartphone users is primarily accessed on a large scale via apps that disclose it to third parties; however, user access to location services is a prerequisite for precise location data here. In the USA, however, the major mobile providers have also apparently collected and sold their customers' location data for years. Making the information generated in the mobile network less precise could make this more difficult. It will also be trickier for government agencies such as law enforcement and hackers to obtain precise location data of individual iPhones via mobile providers.
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