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Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by cluckindan on Saturday January 31, 2026 @12:59PM (#46838936)
Removing this ability also prevents emergency services from determining device location in case its owner goes missing.
Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by gruez on Saturday January 31, 2026 @01:16PM (#46839102)
No

> The limit precise location setting doesn't impact the precision of the location data that is shared with emergency responders during an emergency call.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/126101

Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by cluckindan on Saturday January 31, 2026 @07:10PM (#46842244)
That’s when a person in distress is making the call. I was describing the situation where someone else is making the call.
Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by b00ty4breakfast on Saturday January 31, 2026 @01:12PM (#46839063)
it should be my choice to decide if I want my privacy to be infringed upon in the name of safety. It should not be up to the carrier, or the manufacturer, or first responders or any level of government to make that decision for me.
Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by digiown on Saturday January 31, 2026 @01:13PM (#46839066)
Can't this can be done in a less invasive way by whitelisting the emergency numbers and putting an extra button somewhere that sends the location?
Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by pfortuny on Saturday January 31, 2026 @01:53PM (#46839531)
Well yes. People have gone missing since there were people on Earth.

The fact that something has some good side effects does not make it good or even reasonable.

Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by webstrand on Saturday January 31, 2026 @01:02PM (#46838970)
No? If the device is connected to a cell, they can still triangulate it just like normal.
Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by benSaiyen on Saturday January 31, 2026 @03:49PM (#46840682)
Triangulation does not provide granularity needed for emergency response.

You want EMS looking for a needle in a haystack while you are suffering a heart attack?

Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by ssl-3 on Saturday January 31, 2026 @05:21PM (#46841485)
Indeed.

How might people suggest that this would work, do you suppose?

"We've narrowed the victim's location down to one city block, boys! Assemble a posse and start knocking on doors: If they don't answer, kick it in!" ?

(And before anyone says "Well, it can work however it used to work!" please remember: Previously, we had landline phones in our homes. When we called 0118 999 881 999 119 725 3 for emergency services, there was a database that linked the landline to a street address and [if applicable] unit.

That doesn't work anymore because, broadly-speaking, we now have pocket supercomputers instead of landlines.)

Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by benSaiyen on Saturday January 31, 2026 @05:46PM (#46841674)
We also had phone books with everyone's name and address listed.

Everyone was effectively doxxed yet it was never a security issue.

Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by ssl-3 on Saturday January 31, 2026 @06:07PM (#46841833)
Sure. But we usually didn't need it: We kept the phone numbers for our friends, family, and our favorite pizza place memorized.

And if the phone rang, it was answered. It was almost certainly a real person calling; spam calls were infrequent to the point of almost never happening.

It was a different time, and it is lost to us now.

(We do still have public name-to-address databases, though. For instance: In my state of Ohio, that part of a person's voter registration is public information that anybody can access. Everyone is still effectively doxxed and it's still not a security issue.)

Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by benSaiyen on Saturday January 31, 2026 @06:38PM (#46842062)
Oh right. Forgot registered voter records are public. Similar to your point about phonebooks, I never use them.
Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by roywiggins on Saturday January 31, 2026 @01:07PM (#46839016)
In an emergency you might really want GPS precision.
Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by krater23 on Saturday January 31, 2026 @03:03PM (#46840231)
Which emergency can happen that I really want this? And now don't say suicide attempt. Nearby all emergencies that could happen where someone needs my exact position are things that would additionally lead to a loss of the base connection or a switched off smart phone.
Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by sib on Saturday January 31, 2026 @06:19PM (#46841931)
Car accident? Broken leg while hiking? Mugging? Slip and fall on icy sidewalk?
Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by mcculley on Saturday January 31, 2026 @01:07PM (#46839009)
Cell tower triangulation does not provide the same precision as GPS.
Re:Mobile carriers can get your GPS location by Noaidi on Saturday January 31, 2026 @01:08PM (#46839027)
And this is how they’re able to track all of us, they’re triggering our fear response to give up our civil liberties.