How to Manage Location Settings on iPhone

If you’re concerned about privacy, it’s important to check which apps can access your location on your iPhone. You can then revoke access to any apps that you don’t want sharing this information with. Here’s how to do it!

How to view location services settings

Open the Settings app and go to Privacy & Security > Location Services to see all the apps that have requested access to your location.

You can turn off Location Services at the top of the page to disable it for all apps at once, but we don't recommend this because some apps like Maps need to access location data from your iPhone to function properly.

Instead, scroll through the list and check the location settings for each app.

Manage location access for each app

As you scroll down this list of apps, you'll notice that another arrow appears next to each app, indicating how recently the respective app has accessed your location. Here's what each arrow means:

• Gray arrow : The app has used your location in the last 24 hours.
• Purple arrow : The app is currently accessing your location.

After tapping an app, you can choose from a variety of location access options. The best option for each app will vary depending on how you plan to use the app. Here's what each option means:

• No : This app can never access your location.
• Ask next time or when I share : This app requests location access once each time you use it.
• While using the app : This app can only access your location while you are using the app.
• Always : This app can always access your location, even when you're not using it.

You can also turn off Precise Location for the app in this menu. This way, you only give it access to your approximate location, not your exact location.

Find out which apps are tracking you

iPhone displays an arrow in the status bar whenever an app is accessing your location. If you see a blue arrow, it means an app is actively accessing your location. However, if you just see an arrow with no background in the status bar, it means the app you have open can access your location if needed.

You can also see a list of which apps have recently accessed your location by opening Control Center and tapping the Location Services icon at the top. However, this option will only appear if an app has recently accessed or is currently using your location.

As you use different apps, your iPhone will occasionally display alerts to let you know that a particular app is accessing your location in the background. When this happens, you can view the location data provided to that app and choose whether to allow the app to continue tracking you in the background.

Don't forget Apple system services!

By default, the location services arrow doesn't appear in the status bar for core iOS functions like setting the time zone. To see these settings, tap System Services at the bottom of the Location Services settings on your iPhone!

This lists all of Apple’s location-based services, showing which ones have recently used your location. It also allows you to disable any services you don’t want to use. It’s a good idea to enable all of these options, as they’re extremely useful for locating your iPhone if it’s lost, assisting in emergency situations, etc.

While your iPhone has many built-in security features, you should also be careful about which apps you allow access to your microphone, camera, photos, and Bluetooth settings. You can manage all of these options through your iPhone's privacy settings, giving you full control over your digital privacy.