Your iPhone acts as a digital diary of your life, keeping track of the places you visit most frequently. This feature, called “Significant Locations,” allows your phone to learn your routines to provide predictive traffic routing, improved Memories in the Photos app, and better Siri suggestions. However, from a privacy standpoint, many users feel uncomfortable knowing their device is constantly logging their daily movements.
The Privacy Implications of Significant Locations
Apple states that Significant Locations are end-to-end encrypted and cannot be read by Apple themselves. However, if someone gains physical access to your unlocked iPhone, they can navigate to this hidden menu and see a highly detailed list of exactly where you have been, including the dates, times, and duration of your visits. If you value strict location privacy, disabling this feature is highly recommended.
How to Turn Off Significant Locations
The toggle for this feature is buried deep within the iOS Privacy settings, making it difficult to find accidentally.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap on Privacy & Security.
- Tap on Location Services at the very top of the screen.
- Scroll to the very bottom of the long list of apps and tap on System Services.
- Scroll down again and tap on Significant Locations.
- You will be prompted to authenticate using Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.
- Toggle the switch next to Significant Locations to the Off position (the switch will turn grey).
How to Clear Your Location History
Turning off the feature stops your iPhone from tracking future movements, but it does not automatically delete the data it has already collected.
- While still in the Significant Locations menu, scroll to the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the Clear History button.
- A warning prompt will appear asking if you are sure. Tap Clear History again to confirm.
Your previous location data has now been permanently deleted from your device and any devices synced with your iCloud account.