I use google search as my default search engine in both Safari and Chrome browsers. I do several searches per day on average. About once every 2-3 days, I get this prompt when doing some random search in Chrome:
I want www.google.com to ALWAYS have access to my current location but I can't find a way to stop this question being asked. I want to say 'always' but that doesn't seem to be possible.
iPhone 16 Pro Max, iOS 18
Safari Websites can only access location While Using the App, Ask Next Time, or Never—there is no "Always" option like there is for apps.
This means that websites can only track your location while Safari is actively open. Once you close Safari or switch to another app, websites lose access to your location.
This is a privacy safeguard to prevent websites from continuously tracking your location in the background, unlike some apps that may require constant location access for features like real-time navigation or geofencing.
Enabling location services as "Always" for third-party apps can significantly impact your iPhone’s battery life. When an app has continuous access to your location, it can frequently use GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular data to track your position, leading to increased power consumption.
Some apps, such as navigation or fitness tracking apps, may genuinely need constant location access to function properly. However, many apps request "Always" access unnecessarily, running in the background and consuming battery even when you're not actively using them. See the pic below
To manage battery usage effectively, review which apps have location access by going to Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services and selecting "While Using the App" instead of "Always" whenever possible. You can also enable "Precise Location" only for apps that truly require it.
Ultimately, the decision is yours, but using location services judiciously can help preserve battery life while maintaining app functionality.
SravanKrA wrote:
Safari Websites can only access location While Using the App, Ask Next Time, or Never—there is no "Always" option like there is for apps.
This means that websites can only track your location while Safari is actively open. Once you close Safari or switch to another app, websites lose access to your location.
...
The terminology is confusing here. I have no need or desire for www.google.com (or any website) to have 'all time' access to my location; I only want it to have access while I'm actively 'on' (viewing) www.google.com. So 'while using the App' would seem wholly appropriate here.
The problem is, every other day when I access www.google.com, I'm shown the 'www.google.com would like to use your current location' prompt. So perhaps what I should have said was, I want to say 'allow whenever the website is active'. The prompt I'm seeing is not every day, for sure (and I access google.com several times a day), but it is happening a few times a week; maybe every 2 or 3 days. The fact that it's not every day suggests some kind of 'timeout' or 'expiration' is at play.
To further clarify - I use Chrome mostly, and I have Chrome set to use www.google.com as it's home page. So as soon as I launch Chrome, I'm 'on' www.google.com, and that's when the prompt appears.
How do I stop '... would like to use your current location' prompts?
