iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 bring enhanced Wi-Fi network indicators in the Control Center that now include privacy status and security icons for connectivity insights.
The fifth beta of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 brings a nice tweak to the Control Center, with privacy indicators showing you whether a Wi-Fi network is private or public.
This helps iPhone and iPad owners make more informed decisions about which networks to join, reducing the risk of connecting to unsecured or potentially malicious public hotspots. Thanks to this small but useful tweak, you can basically evaluate network safety at a glance, without diving into detailed settings.
iOS 26 Control Center brings Wi-Fi privacy indicators
Just pull down from the top-right corner to invoke the Control Center, then touch and hold the standalone Wi-Fi control to show a list of detected nearby networks. You’ll notice a lock next to the Wi-Fi symbol for each nearby network that’s password-protected. This allows you to easily distinguish between private Wi-Fi networks and unsecured public Wi-Fi hotspots that don’t require a password to join.
The same icons appear if you touch and hold the Wi-Fi control in the Connectivity group in the top-right corner of the Control Center, which also houses toggles for Bluetooth, Cellular Data, AirDrop, VPN and Personal Hotspot.
Apple is still testing these operating systems with developers and public beta testers. iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and other “26” operating systems should be released publicly in a few weeks, ahead of new iPhones in September.
Quality-of-life fixes
Fifth betas of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 bring other fixes based on feedback from beta testers. In the Mail app, for example, the standalone Select button has been restored and now appears in the top-right corner where it’s been like for ages instead of being tucked away under the … (ellipsis) menu like in earlier betas.
In the camera settings, you can now turn on classic mode switching to reverse the scroll direction when swiping from mode to mode in the Camera app, so that it works like in iOS 18. And macOS Tahoe 26 beta 5 replaces the familiar Macintosh HD icon with a generic icon resembling flash storage, ending its 24-year run.