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Find my switch
TurnOffLocation Devices iPhone & iPad

Device hub

How to turn off location on iPhone

One master switch, one switch per app, and a precise-or-approximate choice underneath each. Most people want the second one.

iOS 27 · iPadOS 27

The master switch

Turn off Location Services for the whole device

in iPhone Settings
Path
  1. Settings
  2. Privacy & Security
  3. Location Services
  4. Off

From the vendor’s own page · iOS 27 · iPadOS 27, read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Apple Personal Safety User Guide — Manage Location Services settings, Apple Support — About privacy and Location Services in iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS, Apple Support — Control the location information you share on iPhone, Apple Support — Use Find My to locate your lost Apple device or AirTag, Apple Support — How to turn on Find My on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac

Do they get told?Apple does not document a notification when you turn Location Services off. What Apple documents is what Find My shows in place of a position: "Not sharing location • Online" when a device is online but cannot send its location.
Who can still see you
Off
Every app on this iPhone or iPad
Apple says apps then can't use your location from Location Services, in the foreground or the background.
Still on
Emergency calls
Apple says your iPhone's location may be used when you place an emergency call, regardless of whether you enable Location Services.
Still visible
The network
Your carrier and any site you open still place you roughly by cell tower and IP address.

Apple's Find My pages add that the Find My network locates a device over Bluetooth from nearby Apple devices, so Find My is a separate system from this switch.

Reset every app's location permission

in iPhone Settings
Path
  1. Settings
  2. General
  3. Transfer or Reset iPhone
  4. Reset
  5. Reset Location & Privacy

From the vendor’s own page · iOS 27 · iPadOS 27 (Apple's page published 2026-05-20), read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Apple Support — About privacy and Location Services in iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS

Who can still see you
Off
Every app's saved permission
Apple says apps stop using your Location Services information until you grant them permission again.
Still on
Location Services itself
This resets permissions, not the master switch. Apps simply have to ask again the next time they want your position.
Still visible
The network
Your carrier and any site you open still place you roughly by cell tower and IP address.

Apple writes this step as Transfer or Reset [device]; on an iPad the screen reads Transfer or Reset iPad.

One app at a time

Set one app's location access to Never

in iPhone Settings
Path
  1. Settings
  2. Privacy & Security
  3. Location Services
  4. the app
  5. Never

From the vendor’s own page · iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and later as named on Apple's page (published 2026-01-14), read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Apple Support — Turn Location Services and GPS on or off on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Apple Personal Safety User Guide — Manage Location Services settings

Do they get told?Whether anyone is told when you take an app's location access away is not documented on Apple's Location Services pages. What is documented is the effect on the app: Never prevents access to Location Services information.
Who can still see you
Off
This one app
Apple says Never prevents the app from accessing Location Services information.
Still on
Every other app, and the master switch
Location Services stays on for Maps, Camera, Weather and anything else you allowed.
Still visible
The app's servers and the network
Whatever the app collected before is still on its servers, and your carrier and IP address still place you roughly.

Apple defines the other options as Ask Next Time Or When I Share (choose Always While Using App, Allow Once, or Don't Allow), While Using the App (access only when the app or one of its features is visible on screen), and Always (access even when the app is in the background).

Precise or approximate

Share only your approximate location with an app

in iPhone Settings
Path
  1. Settings
  2. Privacy & Security
  3. Location Services
  4. the app
  5. Precise Location
  6. Off

From the vendor’s own page · iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and later as named on Apple's page (published 2026-01-14), read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Apple Support — Turn Location Services and GPS on or off on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Apple Support — Control the location information you share on iPhone

Who can still see you
Off
This app's view of your exact spot
Apple says the app gets your approximate location instead of your specific location.
Still on
The app's location access
The app still has permission and still gets a position, just a coarser one. Every other app is unchanged.
Still visible
The network
Your carrier and any site you open still place you roughly by cell tower and IP address.

Apple prints this switch on each app's own Location Services screen, so it has to be turned off app by app.

Sharing with people

Stop sharing your location with everyone

inside the Find My app
Path
  1. Find My
  2. Me
  3. Share My Location
  4. Off

From the vendor’s own page · iOS 17, iOS 16, iOS 15 as named on Apple's page (published 2025-12-19), read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Apple Support — Share your location with iPhone, Apple Personal Safety User Guide — Find My and location sharing

Do they get told?Apple says the person you stop sharing with won't be notified. Apple's Personal Safety guide adds that the people you previously shared with may notice that you've stopped, and that on earlier operating systems they may receive a notification in Messages. Your location disappears from their Find My, Maps, Contacts and Messages.
Who can still see you
Off
Everyone you shared with
Apple says your location disappears from their Find My, Maps, Contacts and Messages apps.
Still on
Location Services and every app
This is a sharing switch, not the master switch. Every app keeps its own location access.
Still visible
The network
Your carrier and any site you open still place you roughly by cell tower and IP address.

Apple adds that deleting the Find My app does not stop sharing: people you shared with can still see your location until you reinstall Find My and turn the switch off.

System services and history

Turn off a system service's location access

in iPhone Settings
Path
  1. Settings
  2. Privacy & Security
  3. Location Services
  4. System Services
  5. Off

From the vendor’s own page · iOS 27 · iPadOS 27, read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Apple Support — Control the location information you share on iPhone, Apple Support — About privacy and Location Services in iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS

Who can still see you
Off
The system service you switched off
Apple says services such as location-based suggestions and location-based ads use Location Services; each has its own switch.
Still on
Every other service, and every app
Only the one service changed. Apps are a separate list on the screen above this one.
Still visible
The network
Your carrier and any site you open still place you roughly by cell tower and IP address.

This screen also carries Apple's option to show in the status bar when enabled system services use your location.

Turn off Significant Locations & Routes

in iPhone Settings
Path
  1. Settings
  2. Privacy & Security
  3. Location Services
  4. System Services
  5. Significant Locations & Routes
  6. Off

From the vendor’s own page · iOS 27 · iPadOS 27 (Apple Personal Safety User Guide, February 2026), read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Apple Personal Safety User Guide — Manage Location Services settings

Who can still see you
Off
The learning on your Apple devices
Apple says devices signed in to your Apple Account learn locations and routes significant to you. This stops that.
Still on
Location Services and every app
This is one system service. The master switch, every app and every other service are untouched.
Still visible
The network
Your carrier and any site you open still place you roughly by cell tower and IP address.

Apple prints a Details list with a Clear History control for Mac only; the iPhone and iPad steps Apple gives here turn the setting off rather than clearing what was already learned.

Turn it back on, or fix it

If Location Services is greyed out

in iPhone Settings
Path
  1. Settings
  2. Screen Time
  3. Content & Privacy Restrictions
  4. Privacy Restrictions
  5. Allow Changes to Settings
  6. Location Services
  7. Allow

From the vendor’s own page · iOS 27 · iPadOS 27 (Apple's page published 2026-09-15), read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Apple Support — If you can't sign out due to restrictions, or your Apple Account is grayed out in Settings, Apple Devices for Kids and Families — Block or allow access and changes to features and apps on your kid's device, Apple Support — If you have a supervised iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro

Who can still see you
Off
The lock on this one setting
Location Services stops being greyed out, so the switch can be changed on this device again.
Still on
Every other restriction
Apple says to check the same screen for anything else set to Don't Allow. Those stay in place.
Still visible
Whoever set the restriction
Changing it needs the Screen Time passcode, and on a supervised device the profile belongs to the organisation.

Apple names Location Services on the Allow Changes to Settings list in its parental-controls guide and prints the step list on its Screen Time restrictions page; if a parent or guardian set the restriction, the passcode is changed on their device, and on a supervised iPhone or iPad look at Settings › General › VPN & Device Management for the profile instead.

Turn Location Services back on

in iPhone Settings
Path
  1. Settings
  2. Privacy & Security
  3. Location Services
  4. On

From the vendor’s own page · iOS 27 · iPadOS 27, read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Apple Support — Control the location information you share on iPhone, Apple Personal Safety User Guide — Manage Location Services settings

Who can still see you
Off
Apps you set to Never
The master switch does not undo a per-app setting. An app set to Never stays off until you change that app.
Still on
Every app you allowed
Maps, Camera, Weather and the rest can use your location again on the terms you set for each one.
Still visible
The network
Your carrier and any site you open still place you roughly by cell tower and IP address.

Apple adds that if an app's access is set to Ask Next Time, you're asked to turn on Location Services again the next time that app tries to use it.

If an app can't find your location

in iPhone Settings
Path
  1. Settings
  2. Privacy & Security
  3. Location Services
  4. Maps
  5. While Using the App

From the vendor’s own page · iOS 27 · iPadOS 27 (Apple's page published 2026-05-15), read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Apple Support — If Maps isn't working on your Apple device, Apple Support — Control the location information you share on iPhone

Who can still see you
Off
The empty position in the app
With the master switch on and the app's own access set, the app can read a position again.
Still on
Every other app's setting
Only this app changed. Anything you set to Never elsewhere is still set to Never.
Still visible
The network
Your carrier and any site you open still place you roughly by cell tower and IP address.

Apple prints these steps for Maps and adds two more checks: set the date, time and time zone correctly, and turn on cellular data or Wi-Fi so you have an active connection.

If someone is tracking you against your will, turning a setting off may not be the safest first step. Read this first.

Related

Where to go next

Question What happens when you turn off location on iPhone? Not everything stops. Apple says that with Location Services off, "apps can't use your location from Location Services in the foreground or background" — but its safety guide adds that "third-party apps and websites may still use other ways to determine your location." Emergency calls are the documented exception: your location may be used "regardless of whether you enable Location Services." Question Location Services is greyed out Usually something is holding the switch, not breaking it. On an iPhone that is normally Screen Time: Content & Privacy Restrictions can lock a Settings row until it is set back to Allow. On a work, school or family-managed device, a management profile or an Android administrator can do the same thing, and the phone will not let you override it. Question Does airplane mode turn off location? No. Airplane mode is a switch for radios: Apple's page says it "turns off all radios except for Bluetooth", and Google's says Wi-Fi and Bluetooth go off with it. Neither company's airplane-mode page mentions Location Services, GPS or location of any kind. Question How to turn off location without notifying It depends on the app, and only Apple and Snapchat answer it in writing. Apple says the person you stop sharing with won't be notified, and its own safety guide adds that they may notice you have stopped; Snapchat says friends you pick for a location setting aren't notified when you choose them. Life360, Google Maps and Instagram document what the other person's screen shows instead, which is not the same promise. App guide Find My Find My has one switch per person, a one-day pause per person, and one master switch for everyone; Messages, Maps and Contacts all reach the same share. Apple's sharing page says the person you stop sharing with is not notified. Apple's safety guide adds that they may notice you have stopped. App guide Photos & Camera A photo can carry the place it was taken in three copies at once: the one you send, the original in your library, and every new photo the camera takes. Apple and Google document a different switch for each. Turning one off leaves the other two as they were.