Whickwithy wrote:
I am wondering
1) where the information regarding location comes from and
On a Mac, it is triangulated from known WiFi access point locations.
An iPhone or cellular capable iPad gets location from both WiFi and cellular tower triangulation. iPhone and iPad location is used to update the WiFi access point database.
2) how it operates. When I say how it operates, I mean, when location services is on, is it stored in each packet? Or, is it a special request that has to be made to the Mac to supply the information?
For when you allow location, it is a special request, hence the ability to control the location data sent. There is nothing in the TCP/IP protocol that transmits location information.
3) When location services are off, what happens? Is the information stripped from any communications? I noticed that they can still tell the state, but I'm uncertain what happens to the rest of the information?
When you don't pass location data, websites use your reported IP address to determine location. They lookup your IP in the IP registration database. Depending on your ISP, that location could be hundreds or thousands of miles away.
With IP Private Relay, you can set the scope of what IP address Apple reports. It can be regional or just within the country and time zone.
