Activating airplane mode will fully disable the cellular radio transmit and receive capabilities, which will prevent your phone from being reached from the cellular network and stop your carrier (and anyone impersonating them to you) from tracking the - device via the cell network. On currently supported devices, the code for Wi-Fi and + device via the cellular radio. On currently supported devices, the code for Wi-Fi and cellular radios is separately sandboxed, and while airplane mode is on, the phone may still be connected and used on WiFi.