Use location services and GPS

You can let your phone use GPS, Wi‑Fi networks, and mobile networks to estimate your location. Apps that have your permission can use this information to deliver location-based services, such as the ability to check in, view commute traffic, find nearby restaurants, or tag your photos with the location where you took them.

TipTo toggle your location on or off, swipe the status bar down and touch or .

To control what location information your phone can use:

  1. Go to Settings > LOCATION.
  2. Switch it on or off to give or remove permission to use your location information. When the switch is off, your phone can't find your precise location or share it with any apps. However, turning this off disables many useful features and apps.

  3. Touch Mode and choose how to estimate your location:

    • High accuracy uses GPS, Wi-Fi, mobile networks, and Google's location service to get the most accurate location.
    • Battery saving uses less battery-intensive location sources (Wi-Fi, mobile networks, and Google's location service).
    • Device only uses GPS only. This mode may use more battery power and take longer.

Apps using your location

To see which apps have recently accessed your location:

  1. Go to Settings > LOCATION.
  2. Under RECENT LOCATION REQUESTS, review the list of apps that have recently received your location. Each app shows whether it uses high-battery use or low-battery use sources to receive location information.

  3. To prevent an app from accessing your location:

    1. Touch the app name.
    2. Touch Permissions.
    3. Turn Location off .