London Police unhappy with Apple’s handling of stolen iPhones in London
Apple has had quite a few successful moves to help fight theft of iPhones. These include the use of the Find My abilities and network to smash a major smartphone theft ring. But apparently, the London Metropolitan Police is still not happy about how much Apple is doing, and it’s now, once again, pointing the finger at the Cupertino tech giant.
The Met says that Apple uses its access to NMPR to check the network status of trade-in devices. Apparently, the London Police are unhappy that Apple is not using its access to also check for theft and do something. The overall claim is that Apple is ignoring the growing problem with stolen iPhones. Reportedly, more than 80,000 phones were stolen in London last year; however, it’s not clear how many of that total number of phones are iPhones in particular.
Meanwhile, Apple has previously told the Met that it should be focusing on catching the thieves. Apple’s Gary Davis said, in June 2025, that the Met Police should continue to do “traditional policing”, and he claimed that the Met wasn’t sending requests to Apple for stolen devices, something that Apple could’ve responded to.
Meanwhile, Apple is also reportedly highlighting that it offers features such as Stolen Device Protection to help people in case of theft. The company is reportedly considering whether to block an iPhone if it’s been registered as stolen.
Blocking the iPhone would mean blocking the device’s IMEI identifier. However, the Cupertino tech giant warns that this could still lead to abuse by people who could lie that they are the owner of said iPhone.
London’s Met Police have also said that they are starting to see links between smartphone theft and other crimes, including violent ones.
Apple and the London Police have been throwing shade at each other for a while now
Curiously, this isn’t the first time that these two sides have been a bit unhappy with each other’s performance on the topic. In 2023, the London mayor demanded that both Apple and Google introduce specific security measures to their devices.
However, both these companies have had these for years. This includes making a device useless when stolen, and if you’re an Apple fan, you know that Apple’s iCloud lock has been doing this for years.
Personal opinion – heading and two-three paragraphs, simple words, friendly language
My take on the Apple vs London Police argument
Honestly, this whole back-and-forth between Apple and London’s police feels a bit pointless. Both sides have a fair argument – Apple already gives users tools like Find My and Stolen Device Protection, while the police are dealing with the real-world mess of theft. But instead of working together, they’re kind of just blaming each other.
I get why the Met is frustrated – 80,000 stolen phones in a year is insane. But I also get Apple’s point: it’s not really its job to chase thieves, and it can’t just start blocking phones without clear proof, because that could mess things up for innocent users too.
If you ask me, the answer is probably somewhere in the middle. In the end, both sides want the same thing – fewer stolen iPhones – so maybe it’s time they stop arguing and start actually fixing it together.
