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Settingly

Privacy and security

Location Services

Most people call this which apps can see where you are.

Location Services is the master list of every app that can use your position, and the level of access each one has.

Available

This setting is present on your iPhone.

  • We have this path on file but have not yet confirmed it against an official source.

Where to find it - iOS 16 and later

  1. Settings
  2. Privacy & Security
  3. Location Services

What it does

Each app is set to Never, Ask Next Time, While Using the App, or Always. Below the app list, System Services covers what iOS itself uses location for, including significant locations and location based suggestions.

What changes

When it is on

Apps you allow can read your position at the level you granted.

When it is off

No app or system service can read your location. Maps, weather, Find My and camera location all stop working.

Should you turn it on?

Good reasons to turn it on

  • Navigation, weather and Find My all need it.
  • Per app control means you can be generous only where it earns its place.

Good reasons to turn it off

  • Nothing at all can read your position.
  • Useful as a temporary measure, but it disables Find My too.

Battery

Depends how you use it

Privacy

Helps

Performance

No real change

Cellular data

No real change

Storage

No real change

Out of the box: On, with each app denied until it asks.

Worth reading first

Where this setting used to live

Apple moves settings between releases. This is every location we have on file.

  1. iOS 16 and later

    Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services

  2. iOS 13 to iOS 15

    Settings > Privacy > Location Services

Questions people actually ask

How do I stop an app tracking my location?
Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Location Services, then choose the app and set it to Never.
What is the difference between While Using and Always?
While Using grants location only when the app is open on screen. Always lets it check in the background.

If it is not working

  • Always access is worth reviewing regularly. Very few apps need it.
  • A purple arrow in the list means the app used your location recently.
  • System Services at the bottom of the list is where significant locations and location based alerts live.

Related settings