Photo credit: Apple

Apple Inc. has announced that the iPhone and iPad are now cleared to handle classified information up to the NATO Restricted level — the first and only consumer devices to meet the alliance’s strict security standards.

The approval follows extensive testing by Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). Devices running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 can now be used in NATO environments without special software or added configurations.

“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 achievement recognizes that Apple has transformed how security is traditionally delivered… 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,” said Ivan Krstić, Apple’s vice president of Security Engineering and Architecture.

The move marks a major milestone for consumer tech entering high-security government use.