Who can see your iPhone location? How to manage it

Apple believes privacy and security are two of its core values ​​and has detailed resources on protecting your devices, accounts, and personal safety. Follow the recommended steps to check who can see your iPhone location and how to make sure nobody can track you.

Apple has a 20-page support guide titled “Device and data access when personal security is at risk.” Whether you have personal security concerns or just have time for a privacy and security review, the steps below will help.

Let’s explore how to check who can see your iPhone location, how to customize location settings, and more.

Who Can See Your iPhone Location? This will ensure that no one can track you

Update summer 2022: With iOS 16, Apple has an additional privacy feature called Safety Check that instantly stops sharing your iPhone location, read all about it in our full coverage.

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Here’s what Apple advises:

Disable location services completely

• If you need to turn off all possible location services and location services (temporarily or permanently), go to settings > privacy (Privacy and Security in iOS 16)
• Beat location services above
• Turn the switch off next to Location Services with confirm Turn off
• Note that some services will not work if location services are disabled
• Apple notes that when you turn off this switch, “Location Services will be turned off for all apps, but your personalized location services will be temporarily restored if you use Find My iPhone to turn on Lost Mode.”

Which apps can see your iPhone location?

• In the same Settings section (settings > privacy > location services) see below
  • Remember that the master switch must be turned on for location services
• You will see a list of apps (Apple apps and third-party apps)
• Tap one to manage individual location services
  • You have the option to allow location access as Never, Ask Next Time, While Using the App, or Always.
  • Additionally, You can turn off Precise Position when you want to grant location permissions to an app but don’t want them to be specific

When you see the Location Services icons in your iPhone’s status bar or in the settings we went through above, what they mean is this:

Manage location services with Find My

• in the settings > privacy > location services beat share my location
• You can now turn off the button next to “Share my location,” which will prevent the family and friends you see below from seeing where you are
• You can also manage how Find My iPhone works by tapping find my iphone

Who can see your iPhone location with Find My?

• Go to Find my app
• Tap a person at the bottom of the list
• Swipe to the bottom of the info card
• Choose Stop sharing my location
• Alternatively, you can do the same from settings > privacy > location services > share my location > family friends

Who Can See Your iPhone Location in Third-Party Apps?

• If you share your location with others in third-party apps, it won’t show up in your main iOS settings
• Go back to settings > privacy > location services to see which apps have location access
• If you’re not sure if an app has access, you can reset them all to “Ask next time” or “Never.”
  • Common third-party apps that have location access on your iPhone are Google Maps, Facebook, Instagram, other social media apps, Uber/Lyft, other travel, fitness, and shopping apps (remember that even unsuspecting apps have or may ask for location access)

Go even further and protect your Apple devices

You can also read Apple’s full 20-page guide to device and data privacy here.

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