Switching off GPS on your iPhone means turning off Location Services for the whole device or for specific apps that use your position.
GPS on iPhone is not a single button in Control Center. Apple rolls it into Location Services, which also use Wi-Fi, mobile data, and Bluetooth to work out where you are.
In its Apple help article on Location Services, Apple explains that the phone mixes GPS, Wi-Fi, mobile networks, and Bluetooth to calculate location for Maps, Camera, Weather, and many other apps. Turning that access off changes how your phone behaves in real, everyday ways.
This guide walks you through fast ways to switch off GPS fully, how to cut it only for certain apps, and which settings you can tweak to balance privacy, safety, and battery life on your iPhone.
What Switching Off GPS On iPhone Really Means
When you talk about switching off GPS on an iPhone, you are really changing Location Services. That setting controls whether apps and system tools can read any location data from the device’s radios.
When Location Services is off, apps on the phone cannot use your location from GPS or other signals. Maps cannot follow you on the road, ride-hailing apps cannot see where to pick you up, and weather apps may no longer update based on where you stand. Apple notes that this limits how many of its own apps behave, not just third-party ones.
You may also notice the little location arrow near the battery icon vanish. That arrow shows when something on the phone is using location. With Location Services off, it should no longer light up during normal use.
Emergency calls are a special case. Apple states on its Emergency SOS & privacy page that the phone can still send your location to emergency services during an emergency call, even if Location Services is off. In some cases it can also share your position with emergency contacts. So you can reduce everyday tracking, yet certain safety features still try to share where you are when you call for help.
How To Switch Off GPS On iPhone For Everything
If you want GPS access off across your iPhone in one move, the fastest method is to turn off the main Location Services switch. That cuts off location access for nearly every app on the phone in one go.
- Open Settings — Tap the grey Settings app icon on your Home Screen.
- Go To Privacy & Security — Scroll down and tap Privacy & Security.
- Open Location Services — At the top of the screen, tap Location Services.
- Turn Location Services Off — Toggle the Location Services switch at the top to off. Confirm when iOS warns you that apps will no longer use your location.
- Force-Quit Location-Heavy Apps — Swipe up from the bottom and hold, then swipe away maps, ride-hailing, social, and weather apps so they restart with the new setting.
From this point, apps that try to read your position will either fall back to old cached data, ask you to turn Location Services back on, or show an error. You can still open Maps and search places, yet the blue dot that tracks you will stop moving along the road.
To restore GPS access for the whole phone, walk back through the same menu path and toggle Location Services on again. All apps that already had permission before will typically regain it, so you may want to review those permissions right after turning things back on.
Turn Off GPS For Individual Apps Only
Most people do not need GPS blocked for every app. You might trust navigation or delivery apps with precise location, yet feel less happy giving the same access to games, social apps, or random utilities.
iOS lets you switch off GPS on iPhone on an app-by-app basis, without touching the main Location Services switch. That way, you keep the functions you rely on while blocking apps that do not need your exact position.
- Open Location Services Settings — Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
- Check The App List — Scroll down to see all apps that have requested location access.
- Pick An App To Adjust — Tap the app whose GPS access you want to change.
- Choose A Permission Level — Select one of the options under Allow Location Access for that app.
- Repeat For Other Apps — Work through the list and cut access for apps that do not need your location.
What The Location Permissions Mean
- Never — The app cannot use your location at all. If it tries, iOS blocks the request.
- Ask Next Time Or When I Share — iOS shows a prompt when the app wants location. You decide in that moment whether to allow it once or while using the app.
- While Using The App — The app can use GPS only when it is on screen or running an allowed task in the foreground.
- Always — The app can read your location in the background. Use this only for apps that clearly need constant location, such as trusted trackers or core security tools.
For social apps, games, and many shopping apps, Never or Ask Next Time Or When I Share usually works well. For maps and ride-hailing, While Using The App gives a good balance between convenience and privacy.
Control GPS For System Services And Hidden Features
Even if you trim app access, iOS itself runs a long list of location-based system features in the background. These show up under System Services. Some of them genuinely help with safety and lost devices, while others belong more to analytics and ads.
- Open System Services — Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services, then scroll down and tap System Services.
- Scan The Toggle List — You will see many switches, such as Find My iPhone, Location-Based Alerts, Share My Location, and others.
- Turn Off What You Do Not Need — Tap off any switches that do not match how you actually use the phone.
- Leave Safety Features On — In most cases, keeping Emergency Calls & SOS and Find My iPhone on is wise, since they help in urgent moments.
Apple’s own guide explains that you can control which apps and system services have access to Location Services data individually in this screen. Many of the toggles here link to location-based suggestions, networking, and Apple ads, which you might decide to disable if you want less tracking.
| Setting | Where It Lives | What Turning It Off Does |
|---|---|---|
| Main Location Services Switch | Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services | Cuts GPS and other location data for almost every app and system tool on the phone. |
| Per-App Location Permission | Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > App Name | Stops that app from reading your location or limits it to active use only. |
| System Services Toggles | Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services | Disables background location for features such as analytics, ads, and some Apple tools. |
| Share My Location | Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Share My Location | Stops sharing your live location with friends and family through Apple services. |
| Precise Location | Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > App Name | Limits apps to an approximate area instead of your exact spot when turned off. |
Which System Services Are Worth Keeping
- Emergency Calls & SOS — Helps send your location to emergency services and emergency contacts when you trigger Emergency SOS.
- Find My iPhone — Lets you track, lock, or erase the device if it is lost or stolen.
- Share My Location — Lets trusted contacts see where you are in the Find My app, if you choose to share that data.
If privacy matters more than convenience for you, you can still leave these three on and turn off other entries such as location-based ads or suggestions. That approach cuts a lot of background GPS use while keeping core safety tools ready.
Use GPS Settings To Save Battery On iPhone
Every time an app asks for your location, the phone wakes radios, checks satellites, and talks to nearby networks. One app doing that from time to time is fine; dozens running checks all day drain the battery much faster.
Switching off GPS on iPhone in a smart way can extend battery life without breaking all location features. The trick is to cut background access that you do not notice, and trim how often the phone needs precise coordinates.
- Set Apps To While Using — For maps, taxis, and delivery apps, pick While Using The App so they stop tracking you when you close them.
- Turn Off Always Permissions — Switch any app set to Always down to a lower level unless you fully trust it and need constant tracking.
- Disable Precise Location Where Possible — For apps that only need a city or region, like basic weather or news apps, turn off Precise Location so the phone does less GPS work.
- Limit Background App Refresh — In Settings > General > Background App Refresh, stop apps you rarely use from waking up in the background and asking for location.
- Use Low Power Mode — When battery is low, turn on Low Power Mode in Settings > Battery or from Control Center to slow background tasks, including many location checks.
Watch the location arrow in the status bar as you test these changes. If you see the arrow on all the time, go back into Location Services and System Services to find the app or feature that keeps asking for your position.
When You Should Keep GPS On Or Partly On
Switching off GPS on iPhone gives you more privacy and can cut noisy background tracking, yet turning everything off is not always a good idea. Some features protect you or your device in ways that depend on location.
Find My iPhone relies on location to show your phone on a map, play a sound, or lock it when you lose it. If you turn off Location Services, Find My can still help in some cases, yet it loses live tracking and becomes far less helpful for recovery.
Emergency features matter as well. As Apple notes on its Emergency SOS privacy page, the device can send your location to emergency services when you start an Emergency SOS call, even if Location Services is off. In System Services you can also decide whether your emergency contacts get location updates after that call. For many people, leaving this behaviour in place is worth a small privacy trade-off.
Navigation is another area where full GPS shutdown causes trouble. If you travel often, you may want to keep Location Services on and instead rely heavily on per-app controls so that only maps, transit, and travel apps see your location.
Safer Alternatives To A Full GPS Shutdown
- Cut GPS For Untrusted Apps — Set unknown or low-value apps to Never in Location Services so they cannot read your position at all.
- Use Approximate Location — Turn off Precise Location for apps that do not need turn-by-turn accuracy, so they see only a general area.
- Turn Off Location-Based Apple Ads — In System Services, disable entries related to ads and analytics so fewer background services touch your location.
- Limit Location Sharing With Contacts — If you once shared your live location with friends or family, review Share My Location and stop sharing with people who no longer need that view.
These steps let you keep GPS working where it helps you most, while cutting out the noisier or more invasive uses that feel unnecessary.
Quick Recap: Best Way To Switch Off GPS On iPhone
Switching off GPS on an iPhone is really about Location Services. The more clearly you set those permissions, the more control you have over who can see where you are and when.
- Turn Off Location Services Fully — Use the main switch in Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services if you want to shut down GPS access for nearly everything at once.
- Manage Apps One By One — Adjust the setting for each app so only the ones you trust have While Using or higher access, and the rest are set to Never or prompt-based access.
- Tune System Services — In System Services, leave safety tools such as Emergency Calls & SOS and Find My iPhone on, while trimming analytics, ads, and other extras.
- Save Battery With Smarter GPS Use — Cut background access, turn off Precise Location where you can, and lean on Low Power Mode when you need extra time away from a charger.
Once you set these GPS and Location Services options the way you like them, your iPhone will still do what you expect on the road, while handing out far less location data than before.