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How to turn off location on iPhone

You can turn location off for the whole iPhone, for a single app, or only make it less exact. Here are the steps, and an honest look at “pausing” and “freezing” location.

By the Locaflip team · Last updated

There are three levels to how to turn off location on iPhone: the main Location Services switch, the permission of each app, and the system services that run in the background. Most people only need the second one. This guide covers all three, then explains what you can and can’t do when you want to hide, pause or freeze your location.

How to turn off location on iPhone completely

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Privacy & Security, then Location Services.
  3. Turn off Location Services.

With the switch off, apps can’t use your location from Location Services in the foreground or the background. Apple warns that many iPhone features stop working as a result: Maps can’t show where you are, and location-based reminders and similar features have nothing to work with.

Two details from Apple’s documentation are worth knowing:

  • No one is notified. Apple’s Personal Safety User Guide says that no one is notified if you turn off Location Services.
  • Emergency calls are an exception. For safety, your iPhone’s location may still be used when you place an emergency call, whether or not Location Services is on. Apple also notes that even with Location Services disabled, third-party apps and websites may still use other ways to determine your location.

How to turn off location for one app

This is usually the better choice: Maps and Weather keep working while an app that has no business knowing where you are gets nothing.

  1. Go to Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services.
  2. Scroll down and tap the app.
  3. Under Allow Location Access, choose one of the options.
  • Never: the app gets no Location Services information.
  • Ask Next Time Or When I Share: the app has to ask again, and you choose each time.
  • While Using the App: only while the app or one of its features is visible on screen.
  • Always: also in the background.

An app appears in this list only after it has asked for your location at least once. Some apps offer only two of the options.

System services and Significant Locations

iOS itself uses location for things such as location-based suggestions and ads. To review them, go to Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › System Services. You can switch each service on or off, and choose to show the status bar icon when a system service uses your location.

In the same list you can turn off Significant Locations & Routes, the feature that learns places and routes that matter to you to improve Maps, Calendar, Photos and other apps. Apple says this data is encrypted and can’t be read by Apple.

How to hide your location on iPhone

“Hide” can mean two things, and they are set in different places.

Hiding it from apps. Use the per-app setting above, or keep access on and turn off Precise Location for that app. It then receives only your approximate location, which is enough for weather or local news. See the Precise Location guide.

Hiding it from people. Location you share with friends and family is managed in the Find My app, not in Location Services. In Find My, tap Me and turn off Share My Location to hide your location from everyone, or stop sharing with one person in the People tab. The steps, and what the other person sees, are in how to stop sharing location on iPhone.

How to pause or freeze location on iPhone

Searches for how to pause location on iPhone or how to freeze location on iPhone assume there is a button for it. For apps, there isn’t: iOS has no general switch that suspends location for a while and resumes later, and none that keeps reporting one fixed spot while you move. What exists, according to Apple’s documentation:

  • Turning Location Services off, for everything or for one app. It stays off until you turn it back on.
  • Allow Once. When an app asks, you can allow access for one session only. It has to ask again next time.
  • Timed sharing in Find My. When you start sharing with a person, you choose how long: for an hour, until the end of the day, indefinitely, or a custom duration. The sharing ends on its own.
  • Hide Location for one person. Apple’s current iPhone User Guide (iOS 27) describes pausing sharing with a single friend: in Find My, tap People, tap the person, then Hide Location. Apple notes that sharing resumes automatically the next day. The guides for iOS 18 and iOS 26 list only stopping the sharing.

When your iPhone can’t be located, people you share with don’t see a frozen position. Apple’s guide says they see “No location found” under your name. Airplane Mode is not a pause button either; see does Airplane Mode turn off location.

If you are limiting what someone can see because you don’t feel safe, Apple’s Safety Check (Settings › Privacy & Security › Safety Check) reviews everything you share with people and apps in one place.

Frequently asked questions

Can I turn location off on my iPhone without notifying anyone?

Apple’s Personal Safety User Guide states that no one is notified if you turn off Location Services. People you share your location with in Find My may still notice that your location is no longer available.

Does turning off Location Services stop Find My?

It affects it. Apple’s guide tells you to check that Location Services is on for Find My when others can’t see the location you share, and lists “Location Services Off” among the statuses Find My can show for a device. Think twice before turning it off on an iPhone you might need to find.

How do I know which app is using my location?

When an app is using Location Services, an arrow icon appears in the status bar. The list in Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services shows the permission of every app that has asked.

How do I reset all location permissions?

Go to Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone, tap Reset, then Reset Location & Privacy. Apps stop using your location until you grant permission again.

Is there a way to freeze my location in one place?

Not in iOS settings. The system either reports your current location, or none.

Sources

This guide is published by the Locaflip team. Locaflip is a Mac app that simulates an iPhone’s GPS location for development, testing and demos; you don’t need it for anything on this page. About Locaflip