iPhone “Location Services” vs iCloud “Share my location”

I wanted some privacy about where I was going on vacation so I went to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Find my friends > “OFF”.


However my my coworkers were still able to find out where I was, so I did some digging around, and in Settings > Apple ID > Share my location I found that “Share my location” was set to “ON” and had a setting to share to that specific coworker.


Can anyone confirm that with “Location Services” being set to off, “Share my location” will still enable people to find out where I am? What is the difference?

iPhone X, iOS 12

Posted on Apr 30, 2019 12:30 PM

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2 replies

May 1, 2019 11:53 AM in response to shepherd9

Share my Location is for the Device.

The family organizer sets up location sharing in Family Sharing settings. After location sharing is turned on, the organizer's location is automatically shared with everyone in the family group. Then each family member can choose whether or not to share their location. When you agree to share, your family members see your location in Find My Friends and Messages. And you can see where they're located too.

Plus, with location sharing enabled, if your device is lost or stolen, you can ask a family member to use Find My iPhone to help you locate it and get it back.

Share your location with your family - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT201087



Locational Services is for the Apps

    1. Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
    2. Make sure that Location Services is on.
    3. Scroll down to find the app.
    4. Tap the app and select an option:
      • Never: Prevents access to Location Services information.
      • While Using the App: Allows access to Location Services only when the app or one of its features is visible on screen. If an app is set to While Using the App, you might see your status bar turn blue with a message that an app is actively using your location.
      • Always: Allows access to your location even when the app is in the background.

Turn Location Services and GPS on or off on your iPhone, iPad, or ...

https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT207092

May 1, 2019 6:17 PM in response to SravanKrA

Thanks for the detailed response! My only thought is, I’ve never set up Family Sharing before, so is Share My Location separate from that?


I take it it from your response that Share my Location and Location Services are totally separate, and that Share my Location still provides authorized users with my phone’s location even if Location Services for Find My Friends is “Off”?

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iPhone “Location Services” vs iCloud “Share my location”

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