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Apple's iPhone 18 Modem Switch Comes With a Quiet Privacy Benefit

t0rqx said:
In the meantime, this feature will be disabled after every iOS update and Apple harvesting this data “to improve quality and services”.
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Or maybe the opposite - I just checked and it's been turned on by default for me (using an iPhone Air on EE in the UK).
 
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bn-7bc said:
Well yea, traveling abroad requires vallid travel ID (wether passport or, nationall ID issoued by EEA member country (for travel witjin the EEA)) I see little isue with this i you for any reason ome into contact with the auto reties in the country you are visiting (or the local helthcare system) having a recognized ID which validity can be relatively easily confirms will probably ease whatever process quite a bit. Not to mention it might be e requirement to get across a border ( at least in some Airports. And this is pefore we grt to placers wich require a visa or similar to enter, I fail to see the big problem
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There are also DACs (Digital Arrival Cards) in some countries now - eg Malaysia and Singapore - rather than visas. If you’re travelling between countries you need to ensure (as the name implies) you’ve competed a DAC up to 3 days prior to arrival. Not (in that case) by air of course.

Not sure if it’s the same for business travel - I used to go to Singapore regularly for work and got an annual visa from what I remember.
 
What about 6G? We're only 3 years away from launch and I am wondering whether Apple is even part of the conversation. Unless they go back to Qualcomm by the time of theiPhone 23 launch. iOS users might have to wait years to benefit.
 
amartinez1660 said:
With all the tracking, profile building of companies and all the accusations against NSA, China, UK, EU by whistleblowers here I thought that maybe Apple had something in its hands to finally start counteracting a bit against this blatant attack on privacy going on for a decade+… but reading the comments, which are mostly grounded and legit, it feels definitely unrealistic that any sort of privacy invasion will be halted by this.
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Considering how many people were already using google, meta and Amazon products, and are now telling ChatGPT, Anthropic, etc everything about themselves, it’s pretty obviously that most people could not possibly care less about privacy
 
haunebu said:
Not happening. C2 is a complete failure according to multiple carriers who have been testing, and it isn't even placed on the full chiplet yet.

Edit: And no, it does not support mmWave.
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Do you have a link to that information? I would find that very surprising as I'm using the Air with the C1X modem and it has been outstanding during my use with it since October.
 
antnythr said:
How long do you think it'll take before you start seeing messages saying "Precise location is required for ..." messages to start appearing?
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I can see that for certain apps, but those apps can just use the GPS in the phone to determine your location. Certain apps require you to be in a certain geofenced area to work. Online gambling apps come to mind. You have to be in a certain jurisdiction for them to work.

I think this is all kind of intellectual self pleasuring so to speak. Even if cellular carriers do opt into it, it's not going to apply to government agencies. 911 will still be able to override it and see as precise a location as possible from the information available. If that "switch" is available to 911, then it's obviously available to other governmental agencies (FBI, NSA, police, insert alphabet agency here).

And if they don't have a warrant, they will cite "exigent circumstances" and do it anyway. If they really have you in their crosshairs and all ready have a warrant (or the dreaded roving wiretap) then you can hit all the sliders and buttons on your phone you want. That may make you feel better, but you're still being tracked.

The actual real world improvement to privacy this will offer is almost zero.
 
Sometimes i feel like there is some kind of alternative motive with Apple.

They want to keep your data from others so its becomes more valuable some how to them.
 
haunebu said:
Not happening. C2 is a complete failure according to multiple carriers who have been testing, and it isn't even placed on the full chiplet yet.

Edit: And no, it does not support mmWave.
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That’s ok, since the walls of the buildings where I live, work, and shop don’t support mmWave either.
 
ab2c4 said:
Do you have a link to that information? I would find that very surprising as I'm using the Air with the C1X modem and it has been outstanding during my use with it since October.
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Carrier testing services used by multiple operators.
 
numberfive said:
probably the setting that you see is the one to prevent some apps from using precise location.
not the same as “agreeing” with carrier that he will not do it with you on their side.
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i think it's available with any carrier in the EU and UK, you just have to turn it on manually, instead of it being turned on automatically.

this is what the apple website says about it:

Carrier availability​

  • With these carriers, the feature is turned on by default:
    • Austria: A1
    • Denmark: YouSee
    • Germany: Telekom
    • Ireland: Sky
    • Thailand: AIS and True
    • United Kingdom: EE, BT, and Sky
    • United States: Boost Mobile
  • With a SIM (physical or eSIM) from a carrier in the European Union or United Kingdom, you can turn this feature on.
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Sill said:
Sure it will.

Think of trying to tell folks in the 1980s that a bunch of companies in league with the government want to track everything you do, even while you sleep, and then extrapolate that information with untold numbers of algorithms to make a 100 percent accurate image of your thought process so they can duplicate you in software. For your own good.

Those folks would have faced a generation of people who all knew family members who'd participated in the Second World War, who sat through Civics and Comparative Political Systems in high school, and who lived through massive celebrations of national pride like the Apollo program and the run up to the Bicentennial, and they would have been crushed by the outpouring of public rage.

Instead, the companies waited about 30 years, while the education system in this country was corrupted. They nailed the technology, and sold it to us in drips and rivulets of neat features. They sold it to us as "cool".

"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled off was convincing the world he didn't exist".
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The greatest trick the devil ever pulled off was convincing the world he didn't exist". is correct . The current generation does not let these companies invade their privacy. They are UNAWARE of how invasive their products are. They are unaware of this horror.

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JitteryJimmy said:
No doubt that some countries will invoke secret laws and secret "executive orders" to force Apple and other corporations to secretly and silently enable detailed tracking.

If you're trusting the greater world, you're doing it wrong.
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you can easily shut off your phone and leave it at the house.

Tracking is coming to automobiles. There is no knowing how many microphones, cameras, location trackers, thermal monitors are built in this huge and complicated device. Heck, I hear Tesla can shut off you car remotely whenever they want!
 
I trust my VPN so I have absolute privacy and can be anywhere in the world. Plus no ads and a no log policy. Kewl!
 
antnythr said:
How long do you think it'll take before you start seeing messages saying "Precise location is required for ..." messages to start appearing?
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The feature doesn't affect the location precision locally on the phone. It's all about how much info is sent to the cell tower.
 
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JohnC1959 said:
911 calls will still provide the precise location.
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This is an interesting aspect I had not thought about. Of course we want this to happen. It's not always guaranteed to happen though which is why you're supposed to be required to register a service address for E911.

But if this can happen, then the whole idea is kind of pointless. The system is still open to abuse to the same people who could/would have abused it before.
 
CarAnalogy said:
This is an interesting aspect I had not thought about. Of course we want this to happen. It's not always guaranteed to happen though which is why you're supposed to be required to register a service address for E911.

But if this can happen, then the whole idea is kind of pointless. The system is still open to abuse to the same people who could/would have abused it before.
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I'm getting the impression that somehow the phone itself is what determines the location based on info from the towers and then returns that location to the cell system. That allows the phone to potentially send less precise info when desired.
From a google search on this topic I got:

Trilateration (Distance): Your phone measures the precise amount of time it takes for a signal to travel back and forth between the phone and at least three different cell towers. By calculating the distance from each known tower, the phone's software pinpoints the exact spot where all the coverage zones intersect.

Sector Analysis (Direction): Each physical cell tower is usually equipped with three directional antennas (or sectors), each covering a 120 degree wedge. Your phone identifies which specific antenna sector it is communicating with, narrowing down the location to a pie-shaped wedge pointing away from the tower.
 
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