How to turn off exact location sharing for apps (and why you might want to do it)

The Location Services setting on iPhone lets you control which apps are allowed to access your location and which system features can use your current location. If an app wants to request your location for the first time, you can immediately give permission for this or block it. Handy, because it gives you control over who can and cannot see your location. But there is an additional option called Exact location. In this article we will show you the difference between turning the feature on and off and why you want to turn it off.

• Exact location on or off
• Set up
• Types of apps

Exact location for apps on iPhone: on or off?

Apps on your iPhone can request two types of locations: an exact location and an approximate location. The difference between the two is that with an exact location, your location is at street level. An estimated location looks more at the city level. For the vast majority of apps, sharing an approximate and rough location is enough for the in-app feature to work properly. The main reason why you would rather not share an exact location is for privacy. An app doesn’t always have to know exactly where you are. But it can be useful to share your location on a larger scale for a certain function. Switching off your location completely is a bit too much.

So it is a compromise between functionality and privacy. This feature of disabling your exact location for apps allows you to continue using many location-based features without revealing where exactly you are. Remember that the exact location is not in principle public, but is only used by the app in question (and any advertising and marketing networks built into the app). If you give a social media app permission to access your exact location, not everyone can see where exactly you are. However, the exact location may become available indirectly, for example if apps share their data with external partners.

Disable precise location for apps

If you have just installed an app or are using a function that requires your location for the first time, an app will always ask for permission to access your location. A map will appear in the notification showing your current location. By default, your exact location is used here, but if you tap the Exact button in the map, you can switch this off. You will then immediately see your location on the map change to a more global location within a larger circle.

You can also disable your exact location in apps afterwards:

1. Go to Settings > Privacy.
2. Tap Location Services and choose the app you want to adjust the setting for.
3. Turn off the switch for Exact location.

For which apps can you disable exact location?

In principle, you can disable sharing your exact location for all apps that request permission for your location. Some types of apps really don’t need to know exactly which street you are in to work properly.

For these types of apps, you can safely disable precise location without losing functionality:

• Weather apps: It is not necessary to receive the weather report at street level, because the weather never really varies from street to street. If it’s raining in your street, it’s probably raining in the entire city.
• News apps: If you want to receive local news or the weather report in your favorite news app, the app does not need to know where exactly you are. These apps only need the city (or province) where you are.
• Social media apps: If you want to make a post on Instagram and share its location, just granting permission at the city level is more than enough.
• Photography apps: When taking photos, it is often enough information to know in which city the photo was taken. After all, you can also see from the photo where exactly the photo was taken. Avid photographers may prefer to leave the exact location enabled.
• Store apps: Some store apps have a function that allows you to search for locations. It is often enough to just know in which city the shops are located. You can then use the address to find out exactly where the store is located.
• Apps from streaming services: Some streaming services require your global location to check whether you are allowed to watch live streams. The app only needs to know which country you are in.

We recommend going through your list of apps to which you have already given permission to retrieve your location. Each app indicates exactly what your location is used for. You can then make a good assessment for yourself whether it is really necessary for your exact location to be shared with the app or not.

For these apps, we recommend leaving Exact Location enabled:

• Navigation apps: In order to know exactly where you are, a navigation app must know your exact location.
• Smart home apps: If you use smart home devices and have location-based automations set up, you only want this to be active when you are actually nearby. After all, your lights do not have to be on when you enter the city, but perhaps they do when you drive into your home street.
• Search apps: Apple’s own Search apps, which allow you to see the location of your devices, objects and friends, are best set to use your exact location. That makes finding a lost iPhone a lot easier.
• Chat apps: If you want to share your location with a friend in WhatsApp, it is useful that you can send exactly where you are.

Also read our tip on turning off sharing your location with apps, because some apps don’t need to share your location at all.