NATO says iPhones are secure enough to handle classified data

The iPhone and iPad have been approved to hold NATO-restricted information, according to an announcement on Thursday. That means off-the-shelf devices running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 can handle classified information “without requiring special software or settings,” Apple says.

The NATO-restricted designation is the lowest level of classified information, and it applies to information that would be “disadvantageous to the interests of NATO” if disclosed, according to a security document posted by the Marines. BlackBerry 10 phones similarly received approval to hold this level of classified information in 2013.

Following an “extensive evaluation” by Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the iPhone and iPad were cleared to handle classified information from the German government. But now, the BSI has signed off on the use of Apple devices with iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 across all NATO nations.

Apple says built-in security protections, like encryption, biometric authentication with Face ID, and Memory Integrity Enforcement, which directly targets spyware, “are now recognized as meeting stringent government and international security requirements.”