Privacy and security
Precise Location
Most people call this exact position versus roughly where you are.
Turning Precise Location off for an app gives it an approximate area instead of your exact position.
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
- Settings
- Privacy & Security
- Location Services
- App name
- Precise Location
What it does
With it off, the app receives a coarse location covering roughly a few square kilometres. That is plenty for weather or local news and useless for following you.
What changes
When it is on
The app gets your exact position.
When it is off
The app gets an approximate area, updated less often.
Should you turn it on?
Good reasons to turn it on
- Navigation, ride hailing and delivery tracking need exact position.
- Find My and camera location metadata need it.
Good reasons to turn it off
- Weather, news and social apps work fine with an approximate area.
- It stops an app building a detailed movement history.
- It saves a little battery, because coarse location uses less power.
Battery
Helps
Privacy
Helps
Performance
No real change
Cellular data
No real change
Storage
No real change
Out of the box: On when you grant an app location access.
What your iPhone needs
- Needs iOS 14 or later
Questions people actually ask
- How do I give an app my rough location only?
- Open Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Location Services, choose the app, and turn off Precise Location.
If it is not working
- The switch is inside each app's own location screen, not in a global list.
- If an app insists it cannot find you, it probably needs precise access restored.