Should I turn off Precise Location on my iPhone?
For many apps, yes, because turning off Precise Location gives an app only your approximate location, which is enough for local weather or news but not your exact street. Keep it on for apps that need your exact spot, like maps and navigation. It's a per-app switch added in iOS 14.
The choice appears in an app's location permission prompt, and you can change it later in Settings. Apple says approximate location may be enough for an app that doesn't need your exact location. A weather app, a news app or a store finder works fine without knowing which house you're in. Turn-by-turn directions and fitness tracking need precise location to work well.
Precise Location works alongside your other location choice, such as While Using the App or Always. Turning it off doesn't stop an app from getting your location. It only makes that location fuzzy. If an app with approximate location needs your exact spot for one task, such as navigation, it can ask you for temporary precise access.
- Go to Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services
- Tap an app, then switch Precise Location on or off
- Leave it on for maps, navigation and fitness apps, and try it off for weather, news and shopping apps
How secure is your phone overall? Take the 2-minute checkup →
Location Services
From the iPhone Privacy Controls course. Learn how apps earn background location and what iOS itself remembers.
Try it on the simulated phone Read the full lesson
The reading is free. The hands-on lab is part of Pro.