Your iPhone knows exactly where you are

Your iPhone knows exactly where you are

Say honey, what are you doing at 151 Prinsengracht 10 times a month? And how come you weren’t home between 2 and 4 when you said you were?

It sounds excessive, but your iPhone can keep track of where you’ve been. Your device uses location data to make features work properly, such as navigation, traffic information and smart suggestions. Many people don’t realize how much insight their phone actually has into their daily routine.

We discuss:

• What are Important Locations
• What does Apple do with your location data
• Not just your iPhone
• Apps and location use
• More control over your privacy

What are Important Locations

Your iPhone can recognize where you are often, such as at home or at work. This feature is called Important Locations.

You can find this via:

Settings > Privacy and Security > Location Features > System Features > Important Locations

Here you see a list of places your iPhone recognizes as recurring. You’ll also see when you’ve been there. This is not a full route history, but rather locations that are more common in your daily routine.

Don’t you want this? Then you can disable the feature or clear the saved history.

What does Apple do with your location data

One reassurance: data from important locations is stored locally and is encrypted. Apple cannot access this information.

The data is used to improve your user experience. Think automatic travel times, smart suggestions in Siri and traffic information if you regularly drive to a certain place.

For general traffic information, Apple uses anonymized and aggregated data from many users at once. This information cannot be traced back to a single person.

Not just your iPhone

If you use multiple Apple devices and have iCloud enabled, certain location information can be synced between your devices. That way you have the same overview everywhere. This data also remains encrypted.

Apps and location use

In addition to the system itself, apps can access your location. This happens only if you give permission.

Go to:

Settings > Privacy and Security > Location Features

For each app, you can set if and when it can access your location. For most apps, access during use is sufficient.

You can also disable the Precise Location option. In that case, an app receives only a global position instead of your exact location.

When an app uses your location, you can tell by an indicator at the top of your screen.

More control over your privacy

If you want to have less data saved, you can choose Clear History in the Important Locations screen. You can also disable the feature completely there.

In addition, it is wise to regularly check which apps have access to your location. Many apps function just fine without continuous access.

Want to know more about how best to keep your privacy on your smartphone? Then read: Conscious about privacy on your smartphone? Read our 11 tips & tricks!