The 2 Hidden Settings iPhone Users Don’t Realize Are Always Tracking Their Location
February 2, 2025 by Lisa Cupido
When you think about how many locations your iPhone has saved of yours, the data can feel overwhelming. It knows where you live, where you work, the location of your gym, your favorite hangout, and more. No matter how helpful this can be when you get in your car at the same time every Saturday and your phone instinctively pulls data needed to direct you to the nearest Trader Joe, you don’t want your locations shared with people you haven’t consented to sharing them with — or, maybe just as bad, with third-party advertisers who are paying the apps you frequent to give up information about you.
There are two settings you should check to make sure they aren’t giving away your locations without your consent: Location Services and Find My. Here’s what you need to know.
1. Location Services
Location Services is one setting you should check on to make sure only the apps you agree to give your location to can actually access it. Visit Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and toggle Location Services off completely to prevent your iPhone from being able to track you at all. This will limit services you may want your phone to deliver, such as weather, GPS, and directions. In the same location settings, you can scroll through your list of apps and decide how much access you want to give them. For each app, set it to Never, While Using the App, or Always, if that option is available.
2. Find My iPhone
Find My iPhone is a really helpful setting that allows you to trace your phone on another Apple device if you happen to misplace it. To make sure it’s enabled, go to Settings > [Your Name] > Find My > Find My iPhone. You may not want to share your location with people you don’t trust, and there’s a way to keep that from happening. Go to Settings > [Your Name] > Find My > Share My Location. Under “Share My Location,” you’ll see a list of people who are tracking your location. You can simply tap on the person’s name you want to remove and select “Stop Sharing My Location.”