Precise vs Approximate Location Permission
An app asks for your location, and you can grant it precise or approximate. Precise puts you on the exact doorstep; approximate puts you somewhere in the neighborhood, which is plenty for weather, news, and most shopping.
TL;DR / Quick Fix
Quick fix: give precise location only to apps that truly need it — maps, navigation, ride shares — and choose approximate for everything else. Review the list in location settings twice a year, since app updates sometimes reset your careful choices.
Follow these steps
- Learn the difference first. Precise location is your exact spot within meters; approximate is a broad area. Most apps asking for location need only the broad area.
- Grant precise only where navigation needs it. Maps, ride shares, and delivery tracking earn precise access. Everything else starts with approximate until it proves otherwise.
- Choose approximate at the prompt. When the permission sheet offers both, pick the approximate option. You can upgrade a deserving app later, but you cannot unshare past precision.
- Review the list twice a year. Open location settings and walk through which apps hold precise access. Updates and reinstalls quietly reset choices you made carefully.
- Demote apps that do not need precision. Switch weather, news, and shopping apps to approximate. They work identically, and your exact doorstep stops traveling with them.
- Check for a [[stuck permission|location-permission-stuck-off]] if changes do not apply. If an app ignores your new choice, its permission may be stuck. Remove and re-grant it to make the setting stick.
What NOT to do
- Do not grant precise location by default. Default-yes is how apps collect doorstep data they never needed.
- Do not assume approximate breaks the app. Weather and news work fine on a neighborhood, and you will not notice the difference.
- Do not ignore the twice-yearly review. Permission rot is real, and a quiet update can restore access you revoked.
- Do not give location to apps that never explain why. A flashlight asking for your doorstep is not a feature, it is data collection.
Frequently asked questions
What is approximate location good for?
Anything area-based: weather, local news, nearby stores. Only navigation truly needs your exact spot.
Can I change it later?
Yes, anytime in location settings. Switching an app from precise to approximate takes seconds.
Why do apps want precise location?
Often for advertising precision or data sale, not for features. Ask what the app gains before you grant it.