How to disable Precise Location on iPhone

iOS has once again made headlines with Precise Location as the current main topic. There was a new update recently that turned on this setting in many apps automatically, which now needs to be turned off manually.

Moreover, a viral post has been making the rounds on social media which warns that people can find one annother's exact location via apps like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and more. This is simply not possible as that's not how the operating system's precise location works.

When this setting is turned off, services can only find your approximate location, rather than the user's exact coordinates. This will give people some peace of mind knowing that apps are not tracking their every movement, even though this information will not be used for harmful purposes.

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Guide to turning off Precise Location setting on iOS devices

Users should follow these steps to turn of the setting:

1. Ensure that your software is updated to iOS 14 or above and go to the Settings app. There, scroll down and find the app you need to change this setting for.
2. Tap on Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, for example, and then tap on location. Next, at the bottom of the screen, you will see a toggle for "Precise Location," which can be turned off.
3. Moreover, you will also find settings for allowing location access which can be changed from "Never," "Ask Next Time Or When I Share," and "While Using the App," which will give users more control over when they want to share their location, precise or not.

The above steps can be repeated for all the apps you need to change the settings for.

You can also completely revoke an app's location access by selecting "Never" on the same page, but that may not ensure the app's full functionality as some features require the general location of the user. For example, Pokemon Go requires precise location so that it can work as intended.

Keep in mind that the "Precise Location" settings should be toggled on for apps such as Uber and Google Maps as they require your exact location to navigate and function properly.

With the settings toggled off for such apps, your Apple device will be able to track your general location, rather than where you exactly are.

For Instagram, however, it is slightly different. This particular setting does not exist in some countries in Europe and the latest version of iOS is a necessity for all.

It is available for US users, though, and can be accessed through the same steps listed above. If you do not want Instagram to share your location, you can simply turn off the location tag while posting on their profile.

Lastly, it would be a good idea to turn on Precise Location for times when you are sharing your location with someone else on apps like Whatsapp or other messengers so that they receive your accurate coordinates at all times.

As it is easy to change this setting, you can choose to toggle it on for when they need to share precise coordinates and turn it off at other times.