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."

There are two switches, and they do different amounts. The master is Location Services, at Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services. Underneath it, every app has its own setting, and Apple lists the choices: Never, Ask Next Time Or When I Share, While Using the App, Always.

What stops

Apple puts the effect of the master switch in one sentence: "When Location Services are off, apps can't use your location from Location Services in the foreground or background." Apple names Maps, Camera and Weather among the apps and websites that use it, so those are the kinds of things that go quiet.

Find My is caught by it too, in the direction people forget. Apple's setup page says: "To locate your lost device on a map, make sure that you turned on Location Services for Find My." With the master switch off, finding your own iPhone on a map is the ability you have given up.

What Apple says keeps working

Emergency calls. Apple: your iPhone's location information "may be used when you place an emergency call to aid response efforts regardless of whether you enable Location Services."
Other ways of placing you. Apple's Personal Safety guide: "Even if you disable Location Services, third-party apps and websites may still use other ways to determine your location."
Everything an app already holds. Apple's pages describe what apps can and cannot use from now on. They do not describe deleting what an app stored earlier.

The arrow

Apple documents one indicator, and it is about use rather than about the setting: "When Location Services is active for an app, a black or white arrow icon appears in the status bar or in Control Center." With Location Services off there is nothing for that arrow to report. Apple's pages do not describe an indicator that the setting itself has been changed, and they do not describe what people you share your location with see afterwards.

One app instead of all of them

Most people want the smaller switch. Pick the app in the same list and choose Never — Apple: "Never: Prevents access to Location Services information." There is also a precision setting rather than an off setting: "To share only your approximate location — which may be sufficient for an app that doesn't need your exact location — turn Precise Location off."

And if you only want to stop one person seeing you, the master switch is the wrong tool: Share My Location in Find My is the one Apple documents for that.

Checked 2026-09-17 against: Apple Support — About privacy and Location Services in iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS, Apple Personal Safety User Guide — Manage Location Services settings, Apple Support — Turn Location Services and GPS on or off on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Apple Support — How to turn on Find My on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac · iOS 14 and later as named on Apple's Location Services pages (published 2026-01-14 and 2026-05-20) — read 2026-09-17

Who can still see you

Off

Apps on this iPhone

Apple: with Location Services off, apps can't use your location from Location Services in the foreground or background.

Still on

Emergency calls

Apple says your location may be used when you place an emergency call to aid response efforts regardless of whether Location Services is on.

Still visible

Apps and websites, by other means

Apple's safety guide: third-party apps and websites may still use other ways to determine your location.

Where to go next

Use the real switch

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 Can someone see if I turn off my location? It depends on the app. Apple says "The person that you stop sharing with won't be notified", while Life360 says your Circle sees a "Location Sharing Paused" label under your name. Snapchat, Instagram and Google Maps document what the other person's screen shows and say nothing at all about notifying them. 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. 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. iOS 27 · iPadOS 27 iPhone & iPad One master switch, one switch per app, and a precise-or-approximate choice underneath each. Most people want the second one.