NATO has approved iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 devices for classified use up to the ‘restricted’ level.
This enables iPhone and iPad to be used with classified information up to the NATO restricted level without requiring special software or settings — a level of government certification no other consumer mobile device has met.
As part of this effort, BSI conducted exhaustive technical assessments, comprehensive testing, and deep security analysis, ensuring Apple’s built-in platform security capabilities met NATO nations’ exacting operational and assurance requirements.
While “restricted” is the lowest classified tier, below confidential and secret, it’s still classified data. For years, the assumption was that consumer phones simply could not be trusted at that level. Apple has proven otherwise.
Now, iPhone and iPad running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 are certified for such use in all NATO nations. They are listed in the NATO Information Assurance Product Catalogue, alongside traditional defense and government vendors.
“Secure digital transformation is only successful if information security is considered from the beginning in the development of mobile products,” said Claudia Plattner, BSI’s president.
“Expanding on BSI’s rigorous audit of iOS and iPadOS platform and device security for use in classified German information environments, we are pleased to confirm the compliance under NATO nations’ assurance requirements.”
This approval comes down to how Apple builds security into its products. New iPhones and iPads rely on Apple silicon with a Secure Enclave that isolates sensitive data, like encryption keys and biometric information.
They also use protections such as Face ID, Touch ID, and Memory Integrity Enforcement, which block entire classes of memory-based attacks before they run.
iPhone and iPad previously received approval to handle classified German government data on devices using native iOS and iPadOS security measures, following an extensive evaluation by the Federal Office for Information Security (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, or BSI).
On the networking side, iOS and iPadOS support industry-standard VPN protocols out of the box.
“This achievement recognizes that Apple has transformed how security is traditionally delivered. Prior to iPhone, secure devices were only available to sophisticated government and enterprise organizations after a massive investment in bespoke security solutions,” said Ivan Krstić, Apple’s vice president of Security Engineering and Architecture.
“Instead, Apple has built the most secure devices in the world for all its users, and those same protections are now uniquely certified under assurance requirements for NATO nations — unlike any other device in the industry.”
