Apple is quietly expanding its privacy playbook in iOS 26.3, this time targeting how much location data your cellular carrier can infer about you.
The new feature, called Limit Precise Location, is not about apps or Apple services. Instead, it narrows what cellular networks themselves can determine when your device connects to the network. The feature is only available on hardware powered by Apple’s in-house modems.
Why Apple is doing this now
Cellular networks have always needed some level of location awareness to function properly. That part has not changed. What is changing in iOS 26.3 is the level of detail in that information.
With Limit Precise Location enabled, Apple says carriers may only be able to identify a general area, such as a neighborhood, instead of a more exact position like a street or address. This happens at the network level, not through app permissions or system-wide location services.
Apple also makes a point to clarify the limits of this feature:
- It does not degrade signal strength or data performance
- It does not interfere with emergency services
- It does not change how apps access location data
This is a behind-the-scenes privacy adjustment that most users will never notice.
A feature tied directly to Apple silicon
What makes this update particularly interesting is where it works.
Limit Precise Location is only available on devices using Apple’s own modem chips, including:
- iPhone Air
- iPhone 16e
- iPad Pro (M5) Wi-Fi + Cellular
Carrier support is also limited for now. Apple lists Telekom in Germany, EE and BT in the UK, Boost Mobile in the US, and AIS and True in Thailand as supported networks.
That narrow availability makes this less of a mainstream feature today, but it strongly hints at broader expansion later.
How to turn it on
If your device and carrier support the feature, enabling it takes only a few steps:
- Open Settings and tap Cellular
- Choose Cellular Data Options
- Select a line if you use multiple SIMs
- Scroll to Limit Precise Location
- Toggle the setting on
- Restart your device if prompted
Once enabled, the change applies at the network interaction level, not within individual apps.
The 404 Take
Limit Precise Location is not flashy, and most users will not notice it at all. That is exactly the point. This feels like a foundational feature Apple is rolling out quietly before expanding it more broadly.
More importantly, it reinforces a growing pattern. Apple’s in-house modems are becoming a platform, not just a component. With the C2 modem expected to arrive in the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, features like this could quickly move from niche to standard.
For now, iOS 26.3 offers a glimpse of how Apple plans to use tighter hardware control to reshape privacy at the network level, beyond apps and operating system settings.
