Turning location off is not one switch. It is three switches that stop three different things, and none of them stops everything. This page sets out what each one covers, in the words of the company that ships it.
What the switch controls
Apple describes the master switch plainly: Location Services uses information from various kinds of networks to determine your approximate or precise location. Turn it off at Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services and, in Apple's words, apps can't use your location from Location Services in the foreground or background.
Android's equivalent sits at Settings › Location › Use location. Google's help page says that with it off, your device's location isn't shared with any apps, and features that use location may not work properly. Google lists what the phone draws on while it is on — GPS, Wi-Fi and mobile cellular networks, plus sensors such as the accelerometer, barometer and gyroscope. Apple lists cellular, Wi-Fi, GPS networks and Bluetooth.
So the master switch governs one supply line: the position your operating system works out and hands to apps. Switching it off is a real change, and worth making. It is not the same as being unfindable, and the companies say so themselves. Apple: Even if you disable Location Services, third-party apps and websites may still use other ways to determine your location. Microsoft: even with Location services off, some third-party apps and services could use other technologies, such as Bluetooth, IP address or the cellular modem, to work out where the device is.
What still places you
Every row below comes from a vendor's own help page. The last column is the one people skip.
| Signal | Who has it | What it can tell | Can you turn it off? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your IP address | Every site and app you open | The general area your connection comes from | No. Microsoft documents Windows using your IP address for local information, such as weather on the taskbar, while location services is off. |
| Cell towers | Your mobile carrier | Which part of the network the phone is on | Only by switching the cellular radio off. Google says your carrier can still send your location to emergency responders when you call an emergency number. |
| Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning | Your phone, and apps allowed to use it | Which access points and devices are near you | On Android, yes: Wi-Fi scanning and Bluetooth scanning are separate switches under Location › Location services. |
| The location stored inside a photo | Anyone you send that photo to | Where the picture was taken | Yes, per photo or for the camera as a whole. |
| An emergency call | Emergency responders | Where you are calling from | No. Apple, Google and Microsoft each document location going out regardless of the setting. |
| Significant Locations, Visited Places, Timeline | Your own account and signed-in devices | Where you were on earlier days | Yes, on their own switches. The master switch does not clear what is already saved. |
| Another app's own permission | That app and the company behind it | Wherever you go while that permission is on | Yes, one app at a time. The master switch covers all of them at once. |
Two of those need a sentence of their own. Apple's Find My network runs on Bluetooth rather than on your own connection: any Apple devices within Bluetooth range that have offline finding enabled can detect a signal from another Apple device configured to allow Find My. That is how a device with no connection of its own still turns up on a map. And Google says plainly that switching Timeline off is not the end of your history: other location data, such as info about your location from your device's general area and IP address, may be saved as part of activity on Search and Maps, or included in your photos depending on your camera app settings.
What this means for each switch on this site
The master switch
It stops the operating system handing your position to apps on this device. It does not touch your carrier, your IP address, an emergency call, or the history already saved to your account. Apple and Microsoft print that caveat on their own pages, which is why the third line of every readout here repeats it.
One app's permission
It stops that one app getting your position from the operating system. Every other app keeps its own. And a permission only covers what it covers: TikTok's policy says the company collects approximate location from your SIM card and IP address, and precise location such as GPS only with your permission.
Sharing inside an app
This switch changes what a person sees, not what a company holds. Ending a share ends the live pin for that person. The app still has your location for everything else it does, and the other person may be able to tell that you stopped — each app page on this site says what that vendor documents about it, and nothing beyond.
Checked 2026-09-17 against: Apple — Manage Location Services settings (Personal Safety User Guide), Apple — About privacy and Location Services in iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS, Google — Manage your Android device's location settings, Google — Manage your Pixel phone's location settings, Microsoft — Windows location service and privacy, Google — Manage your Google Maps Timeline, Apple — Using Find My to locate missing Apple devices (Apple Platform Security), TikTok — Privacy Policy, Location Information, Apple — Keep your location history private in Maps (Personal Safety User Guide) · read 2026-09-17