In iOS 26.3, Apple introduced a new privacy feature which limits “precise location” data made available to cellular networks via cell towers. The feature is only available to devices with Apple’s in-house modem introduced in 2025. The announcement1 says https://support.apple.com/en-us/126101 ↩
  • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafeEnglish
    71·
    6 days ago

    This does between fuck and all 🤦

    Do you think they can’t triangulate you with their cell tower info, especially with the tiny 5G cells?

    Every cell registration that occurs provides that much more triangulation data.

    Now with decades of data from towers, phones and actual GPS data the accuracy is equivalent to GPS.

    • AA5B@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      2 days ago

      I’ll take it as a win - letting a user decide not to give exact gps coordinates to the tower but forcing them to use the less accurate, more “difficult” triangulation.

      Obviously theres only so much you can do, the fundamental nature of cell phones means your provider knows your location. But that doesn’t mean we need to make it easy and exact

    • lemmydividebyzero@reddthat.comOPEnglish
      2·
      6 days ago

      The article mentions that.

      But IMO, it’s kind of insane that the protocol also kind of forces your phone to send GPS coordinates over… Like… How the Frick is that necessary and justified at all and became part of the protocol?