Learn how to clear your location historical past

In the event you’re uncomfortable with social media apps monitoring your actions, or fearful about information falling into the incorrect fingers, right here’s easy methods to cease them utilizing your iPhone’s built-in location settings.

If you end up touring to a rustic with an authoritarian authorities, clearing your cellphone’s location historical past is a secure guess. Or in the event you’re shifting to a unique metropolis or to a brand new job, it may be annoying seeing journey options to the incorrect place. Resetting your location historical past will begin from a clear slate.

These strikes may additionally shield you from shady information brokers, who spy on and promote your actions. Right here’s how.

Learn how to examine your location settings on iPhone

Apple retains your location historical past for a big selection of options within the iPhone. Photographs makes use of your location information to search out collections of images and movies that had been taken at house and on holidays or journeys to create Moments. Siri and Reminders use your location historical past so to ask to be reminded “once I get house.” Maps makes use of patterns in your location information so to be alerted how lengthy it’ll take to drive to work or to the shop.

Chances are you’ll need to investigate cross-check your location settings infrequently.

Understand that Apple protects your location information. The entire location monitoring and processing for these options occurs in your iPhone and is end-to-end encrypted. You possibly can learn all about how Apple treats your privateness for every service on their Characteristic Privateness web page, or you’ll be able to peruse their Location Companies Privateness White Paper.

Shield your actions from shady information brokers

That’s to not say different apps you could have put in received’t observe you. Each time you add a photograph or video to social media, the placement data within the photograph builds a map of locations you go to. Shady third-party builders — and even The Climate Channel — have been accused of promoting location information to advertisers. This piece by the New York Occasions is an effective introduction to the subject. Since its publication, Apple has cracked down on builders misusing the iPhone’s built-in promoting ID system, however there are nonetheless workarounds builders can use.

Don’t let apps observe you

There’s one super-fast, straightforward approach to flip off a bunch of ineffective information monitoring behind your again. Go to Settings > Privateness & Safety > Monitoring and disable Permit Apps to Request to Observe. 

This received’t break any performance. It denies apps the flexibility to make use of your system’s distinctive ID to comply with you throughout apps and web sites on the web. 

Learn how to clear your vital areas

You possibly can see all the areas your iPhone thinks are vital, the place you’ve been lately, clear the historical past and switch off the placement options in Settings.

To view your location historical past on iOS, navigate to Settings > Privateness & Safety > Location Companies > System Companies (scroll to the very backside) and choose Important Areas & Routes (additionally on the backside). You’ll have to authenticate utilizing Face ID (or your passcode) to entry this web page. 

Flip off Important Areas & Routes on the prime to show off this function.

The abstract will present you what number of instances it has recorded you at a big location and the way a lot historical past it has. The map will present essential locations you’ve been within the final day. Faucet a location to see it previewed on the map.

Faucet Clear Historical past to delete the previous couple of months of information. This is not going to cease monitoring your vital areas as long as that function continues to be enabled above.

Learn how to flip off location monitoring

Return to System Companies to disable different options of the iPhone that use your location. Personally, I preserve all of those enabled as a result of I usually belief Apple, however your personal emotions might differ. The arrows subsequent to the toggles point out if the service solely sees your location beneath sure circumstances (hole), if the service has lately used your location (purple) or if the service has checked your location throughout the final 24 hours (grey).

Return to Location Companies to see which third-party apps have entry to your location and when. The choices embody By no means, Ask Subsequent Time Or Once I Share, Whereas Utilizing the App and At all times. I like to recommend setting all social media apps and most different apps to By no means. Attempt to keep away from permitting Whereas Utilizing as a lot as attainable. I solely use At all times for Climate and Maps.

You can too flip off Exact Location, in order for you broad options related to your normal space, with out an app understanding your actual habits.

Flip off Apple Maps Visited Locations

A brand new function in iOS 26 is Apple Maps Visited Locations. It logs which eating places, locations of enterprise and factors of curiosity you go to.

Personally, I actually just like the function — I feel it’s considered one of iOS 26’s finest. It’s nice for trying up which eating places I’ve had earlier than, once I final visited a metropolis, and many others. You possibly can search by class, place title and extra. 

However I perceive why it could give somebody the heebie-jeebies. Fortunately, it’s straightforward to show it off without end. Simply go to Settings > Privateness & Safety > Location Companies > Maps and switch off Visited Locations. 

In the event you’d solely wish to clear your current historical past, that’s attainable as properly. Open Maps, faucet in your profile icon within the higher proper, faucet Locations > Visited Locations and scroll all the way down to the underside. You possibly can faucet Clear Historical past to take away every part till now. You can too change the Maintain Visits setting, in order that areas are eliminated after three months or a yr. 

Extra iPhone options

• You possibly can totally customise the Residence Display screen. Place icons anyplace on the display screen. Followers of darkish mode can now take pleasure in alternate darkish mode icons. When you’ve got a colour theme you need to match, you’ll be able to tint icons to any hue you need.
• You possibly can edit the buttons in Management Heart. Add many extra toggles and buttons, together with these from third-party apps. You possibly can resize some buttons to make them extra outstanding, and you may organize your controls throughout a number of pages. In a single fluid movement, you’ll be able to swipe all the way down to activate Management Heart and proceed swiping all the way down to scroll by means of your pages.
• Standby turns your cellphone into a wise show when it’s sitting in your desk, your nightstand or the kitchen counter.
• Customise the Lock Display screen with a bunch of widgets, aesthetics and types. You will have a great deal of fonts, colours, types and themes out there.

We initially revealed this publish on iPhone location settings on April 29, 2022. We up to date the article with new data on October 10, 2025.