Turn Location Services and GPS on or off on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch

Learn how to turn Location Services and GPS on or off for individual apps.

How to give apps permission to use your location

Some apps might not work unless you turn on Location Services.1 The first time an app needs to access your Location Services information, you’ll receive a notification asking for permission. Choose one of these options:

  • Tap Allow to let the app use Location Services information as needed.

  • Tap Don't Allow to prevent access.2

  • Tap Ask Next Time Or When I Share to choose Allow While Using App, Allow Once or Don't Allow.

iOS and iPadOS devices might use Wi-Fi and bluetooth to determine your location. GPS and cellular location are available on iPhone and iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular) models.

How to turn Location Services on or off for specific apps

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.

  2. Make sure Location Services is on.

  3. Scroll down to find the app.

  4. Tap the app and select an option:

    • Never: Prevents access to Location Services information.

    • Ask Next Time Or When I Share: This allows you to choose Allow While Using App, Allow Once or Don't Allow.

    • While Using the App: Allows access to Location Services only when the app or one of its features is visible on screen. If an app is set to While Using the App, you may see your status bar turn blue with a message stating that an app is actively using your location.

    • Always: allows access to your location even when the app is in the background.

      When you go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services, you can change how individual apps can use your location.

From here, apps should provide an explanation of how the app will use your location information. Some apps might only offer two options.

How to share your specific location

In iOS 14, iPadOS 14 and later, some apps can use Precise Location to get to your specific location. To share only your approximate location — which may be sufficient for an app that doesn’t need your exact location — turn Precise Location off. Here’s how:

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security, then select Location Services.

  2. Select an app, then turn Precise Location on or off.

    When you turn off Precise Location, you only share your approximate location with the selected app.

Learn more about privacy and Location Services.

  1. Location Services uses GPS and bluetooth (where they're available), along with crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspots and cellular towers to determine the approximate location of your device.

  2. Apps won't use your location until they ask for your permission and you allow permission.

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