How to Disable Location Services on iPhone and iPad Completely

How to Disable Location Services on iPhone and iPad Completely

The Location Services capabilities of iPhone and iPad allow the devices to use onboard GPS, Wi-Fi, cell tower location data, and Bluetooth to determine the location of the iPhone or iPad. With iPhone, this location data can be pretty much exact, placing the location of the iPhone (and potentially you) perfectly on a map thanks to GPS and cell tower triangulation, and its impressively accurate with iPad too. Many iOS apps rely on location data to function properly, for example the various map applications rely on device location data to be able to accurately , you can , and weather apps use location data to gather location relevant weather data. But not everyone is thrilled with their location being used by apps or the iOS operating system, and some users in high security or privacy-important environments may wish to completely disable Location Services on their iPhone or iPad. This article will show you how to disable all Location Services on an iPhone or iPad, preventing geographic location data from being gathered or used by all apps and most iOS services too. Note this completely turns off all geographic location services and features on an iPhone or iPad, which may prevent some apps (like Maps) from behaving as expected: (Note that by disabling Location Services, the location information of an iPhone will still be used if that iPhone is used to place an emergency call from that device.*) Remember, turning off Location Services completely will prevent any app from being able to use your geographic location or location data. That includes apps that require geolocation to function properly, like Maps. You can also choose to disable Location Services on a per-app basis, which is a great targeted approach if youd rather keep the Location Services feature on broadly, for things like maps and directions, but still want to strictly limit which apps and system services are able to use, access, and retrieve your location data. Most iPhone and iPad users should probably follow this approach, and leave the feature enabled while instead selectively turning off location data for the majority of apps. This is done through the same Location Services section of Privacy settings, but you must choose each app specifically in the list to customize, selecting Never to disable location services for the apps in question. My personal opinion (in case you wanted my specific thoughts on this topic) is to leave Location Services enabled in iOS, but to very strictly limit what apps and services are able to use your location data. Frankly, the vast majority of apps do not need your location data, and they should not have access to it. My opinion is that some apps make sense to use your location data, including apps like Maps, Google Maps, Find My iPhone, Find My Friends, Compass, Waze, Weather, maybe even apps like Calendar and Reminders if you just location aware features in those. But thats about it. Anything else almost certainly doesnt need your location data to function, but if you arent sure, just think about how the app is used is location required to get the usage you desire out of a particular app? The answer is probably obvious, and also probably a no. Does a camera app need your location in order to function? . Does social media need your location data to function? Nope, turn that off too. Does a language learning app need your location? Nope. Does a maps app that uses your current location to route you accurately to a destination need your location? Yes. Just use a little common sense. There are many possible reasons to disable geographic location services on an iPhone or iPad, but the most commonly cited reasons to disable location data come down to security and/or privacy. : If youre using an iPhone or iPad in a high security environment, you may want to disable location services to protect the location. In fact, depending on your job and where you live, you may even be required to disable location services on a device, as is the case with personnel employed by government and military. : If youre using an iPhone or iPad at a location that youd rather keep private, perhaps your personal home address, an office, school, shelter, a favorite swim hole, or some other beautiful place that youd rather not be discovered, , and , then , disabling geolocation and location services for all social media apps, , , and anything similar is a great idea. The other reason that many iPhone and iPad users choose to disable location services though usually only on a per-app basis is to improve device battery life. Using GPS and location data requires more power, and thus if an app is using a lot of location data, it can reduce the battery life of an iOS device. If youre interested in this particular concept, weve discussed before on iPhone and iPad. * You can get more information about location services and how your iPhone or iPad uses them by tapping the little blue text in the Settings that says About Location Services & Privacy, where youll be presented with the following information in the iOS Settings app (as of iOS 11.4.1), repeated below for easier reference and reading: Location Services uses GPS and Bluetooth (where those are available) along with crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower locations to determine your devices approximate location. Your Apple Watch may use the location of your paired iPhone if it is nearby. If Location Services is on, your iPhone will periodically send the geo-tagged locations of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple, to be used for augmenting this crowd-sourced database of Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower locations. By enabling Location Services, location-based system services such as these will also be enabled: Traffic.If you are physically moving (for example, traveling in a car), your iPhone will periodically send GPS locations and travel speed information in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple, to be used for augmenting a crowd-sourced road traffic database. Popular Near Me.Your iPhone will periodically send locations of where, and when, you have purchased or used Apps in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple, to improve a crowd-sourced database that may be used to offer geographically-relevant Apps and other Apple products and services. Significant Locations.Your iPhone will keep track of places you have recently been, as well as how often and when you visited them, in order to learn places that are significant to you. This data is transmitted end-to-end encrypted between your iCloud connected devices and will not be shared without your consent. It will be used to provide you with personalized services, such as predictive traffic routing, and to build better Photos Memories. Location-Based Apple Ads.Your iPhone will send your location, including its travel speed and direction, to Apple in order to provide you with geographically relevant iAds. Location-Based Suggestions.The location of your iPhone will be sent to Apple to provide more relevant recommendations. If you turn off Location Services for Location-based Suggestions, your precise location will not be sent to Apple. To deliver relevant search suggestions and news, Apple may use the IP address of your internet connection to approximate your location by matching it to a geographic region. Location-Based Alerts.Your iPhone and Apple Watch will use your location in order to provide you with geographically-relevant alerts, such as a reminder to call someone when you get to a specific place, when to leave for your next appointment, or an app recommendation based on where you currently are. Share My Location.You can choose to share your current location with others, on a temporary or ongoing basis, from within certain apps such as Messages and Find My Friends. HomeKit. Your iPhone will use your location to enable accessories to turn on or off when you arrive or leave a specific location, such as turning on your lights when you get home. The crowd-sourced location data gathered by Apple does not personally identify you. By enabling Location Services for your devices, you agree and consent to the transmission, collection, maintenance, processing, and use of your location data and location search queries by Apple and its partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based and road traffic-based products and services. You may choose to disable Location Services at any time. To do so, open Settings on your iPhone, tap Privacy, tap Location Services, and either turn off the global Location Services switch or turn off the individual location switch of each location-aware app or feature by setting it to Never. To disable Location Services for all websites, set the Location Services setting for Safari to Never. You may also disable location-based system services by tapping on System Services and turning off the switch for each location-based system service. If you allow third-party apps or websites to use your current location, you are subject to their terms and privacy policy and practices. You should review the terms, privacy policies, and practices of such apps and websites to understand how they use your location and other information. Information collected by Apple will be treated in accordance with Apples Privacy Policy, which can be found at www.apple.com/privacy. Ultimately its up to you as a user (and perhaps your employer) how you use Location Services in iOS and whether or not you want certain apps, all apps, or as little as possible using your geographic location data. And for Mac users, youre not left out either, though the process is obviously going to be different you can too if desired.