You can turn off Location Services for the entire iPhone or restrict location access for individual apps. Disabling it globally has a much larger effect and can limit Maps, Find My, weather, camera location tagging, and other features.
Turn Off Location for One App
- Open Settings.
- Tap Privacy & Security.
- Tap Location Services.
- Select the app.
- Tap Never to prevent that app from using Location Services.
If you still want the app to know your general area but not your exact position, leave access enabled and turn off Precise Location when that option is available.
Turn Off Location Services for the Entire iPhone
- Open Settings.
- Tap Privacy & Security.
- Tap Location Services.
- Turn off Location Services.
- Confirm the change.
Understand the Tradeoff
When Location Services is off, apps cannot use location information from Location Services in the foreground or background, and many Apple and third-party features may not work as expected.
If Your Goal Is to Stop Sharing With a Person
Turning off all Location Services is usually unnecessary. Open Find My, select the person under People, and stop sharing your location with that person instead.
Turn Off Precise Location Instead
For many privacy situations, disabling Precise Location is a better compromise than blocking location entirely. The app can receive an approximate area while losing access to your exact position. You can configure this separately for each supported app under Location Services.
Location Services and Find My
Be careful if you rely on Find My to locate a lost iPhone. Disabling location features broadly can reduce the usefulness of location-dependent services. If your goal is privacy from one app or one person, make the narrower change instead of turning off every location feature on the phone.