A new security feature rolling out to select models of the latest iPhones and iPads this week will make it harder for law enforcement, spies, and malicious hackers to get a person’s precise location data from their phone provider.

According to Apple, the new feature, if possible, location data accuracy is limited that iPhones and cellular-enabled iPads will be shared with the customer’s cell carrier. Sharing a less precise location, such as a general neighborhood rather than a street address, helps protect the device owner’s privacy, the company said.

Apple said the feature shift will not affect the accuracy of location data shared by apps, or shared by first responders during an emergency call.

The location precision feature limitation is supported on iPhone Air, iPhone 16e, and iPad Pro (M5) Wi-Fi + Cellular, running iOS 26.3, and is available on some 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 cell carriers to access individuals’ location data for tracking them in real time, or checking where they are. traveled over a period of time.

Hackers also often target cell carriers for the sensitive data they collect on their customers. Last year, several US phone giants, including AT&T and Verizon, were confirmed continued infiltration by Chinese-backed hackerscalled Salt Typhoon, looking phone call logs and messages of senior American officials.

In addition to new threats, long-known vulnerabilities in global cellular networks allow vendors to spy on snooping on individuals’ location data anywhere in the world.

While telecom operators can determine the approximate location of a person’s phone, the person’s device itself plays a role in providing accurate location data back to the carrier, said Gary Miller, a mobile security expert who serves as a researcher at Citizen Lab and senior director of network intelligence at iVerify.

“Most people don’t know that devices can send location data outside of just apps,” Miller said. “While (the devices) can limit GPS disclosure at the app level, they don’t lock down precise network location disclosure.”

“Apple’s feature, while limited to very few operator networks, is a step in the right direction in giving users more control over privacy,” he said.