Removing this ability also prevents emergency services from determining device location in case its owner goes missing.

> 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

	▲	cluckindan 9 hours ago \| parent [-]
		That’s when a person in distress is making the call. I was describing the situation where someone else is making the call.

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b00ty4breakfast 15 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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.

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digiown 15 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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?

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pfortuny 14 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

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.

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webstrand 15 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

No? If the device is connected to a cell, they can still triangulate it just like normal.

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roywiggins 15 hours ago | parent | next [-]

In an emergency you might really want GPS precision.

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krater23 13 hours ago | parent [-]

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.

	▲	sib 10 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Car accident? Broken leg while hiking? Mugging? Slip and fall on icy sidewalk?

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mcculley 15 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Cell tower triangulation does not provide the same precision as GPS.

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benSaiyen 12 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

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?

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ssl-3 11 hours ago | parent [-]

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.)

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benSaiyen 11 hours ago | parent [-]

We also had phone books with everyone's name and address listed.

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

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ssl-3 10 hours ago | parent [-]

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.)

	▲	benSaiyen 10 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Oh right. Forgot registered voter records are public. Similar to your point about phonebooks, I never use them.

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Noaidi 15 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

And this is how they’re able to track all of us, they’re triggering our fear response to give up our civil liberties.