If you carry a MacBook to work, to the coffee shop, and back home, macOS uses Wi-Fi signals to silently track your physical movements. It logs the exact addresses you visit, how long you stay there, and how often you return. Apple calls this feature “Significant Locations.”
Apple claims this data is encrypted and used to improve Apple Maps routing or Siri suggestions. However, having a detailed, unchangeable diary of your physical movements permanently logged inside your laptop is a massive privacy risk if your computer is ever compromised. You can safely disable this hidden GPS tracker.
How to Safely Disable Mac Significant Locations
You must navigate to the deepest level of the macOS Privacy & Security menu to find this toggle.
- Click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner of your screen and select System Settings.
- Scroll down the left sidebar and click on Privacy & Security.
- In the main pane, click on Location Services.
- Scroll all the way to the very bottom of the list of applications until you find System Services.
- Click the Details… button next to System Services. (macOS will likely demand your administrator password or Touch ID at this point).
- A new menu will appear. Look for the item labeled Significant Locations.
- First, click the Details… button next to it.
- Click Clear History to permanently destroy the log of everywhere you have already been.
- Finally, uncheck the box next to Significant Locations.
- Click Done.
Your Mac will instantly stop recording your physical movements. Features like “Find My Mac” will still work perfectly if you lose your laptop, but the operating system will no longer build a secret diary of your daily commute.