How To Turn On Location Services
Ranging from a simplification of online purchases to getting great deals and the like, mobile apps offer a lot of perks and advantages. There is one key player in all of this and they are location services. Luckily users can easily turn them off and on in their Android and iOS devices.
Location services – what are they?
A lot of people use location services each passing day regardless of whether they find their way to someplace, check the weather, or search for local services. The presence of location services also enables mobile apps to serve users with content that is personalized and relevant.
For instance, users can get all the needed notifications about their daily donut shop, discounts at the local supermarket or clothing store, or suggestions for the best gyms in the area.
A key advantage of sharing the device’s location is that it allows users to be easily found during an emergency. It even helps them find the phone in case they lose it. It even helps people keep an eye of sorts on their children or other loved ones.
A lot of social networking apps also have location features, helping users find their acquaintances and friends nearby. These are just some of the reasons why technology experts recommend users to turn on their location services in both their devices and apps.
Purpose of using location services
Location services on both Android and iOS devices are present to help users take good control of their information and choose whom they want to share the information with.
Enabling location services helps both Apple and Google (depending on the operating system) along with other apps and websites use the smartphone’s navigation to provide an array of services based on location, especially helping users with their way around or finding local restaurants nearby.
Having the location services turned on is key for apps in providing users with the needed information and personalized communications. It even enables them to utilize most of their mobile devices in the best possible manner.
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How can users turn on location services?
Regardless of whether users have an Android device or an iOS device, users need to answer the question How to Turn On Location Services on iPhone or Android? Here is how they can turn on their location:
Turning on the location services on the iPhone
iOS users may have enabled location services in their devices once they started setting it up. If not, they can be easily turned on. Here are some steps to do so:
- Users must head to settings and then to privacy.
- A tab named Location Services is there which should be tapped.
- Users must hence toggle the slider to on. It hence shows the location services have been turned on.
When the location services are on, users will see a complete list of apps using the device’s location services. They can even set the kind of access they like each app to have.
Enabling location-based alerts on the iPhone
A lot of mobile apps require knowing users’ location so they can work properly and send them alerts based on it. Uber, Lyft, and other apps often require such so they can tell the riders where the passengers are. However, privacy features of newer devices are quite robust requiring apps to ask users for their consent.
Between Android and iOS, these features are quite different. iOS offers more tracking options. Turning location-based alerts on the iPhone is easy. Whenever apps require permissions for the first time, they will notify users of the requirement of their consent. Here are some steps users can take to turn on the location services for certain apps on iOS:
- Going to settings, then privacy, and then location services.
- Users then scroll down to the apps in the list they want to set the settings regarding location services.
- They should then tap on the app they need to change the settings for and then clock on either always while using the app, ask next time, or never.
From this point, apps should be able to provide users with an explanation about the way they will use local information of users. Some apps will use precise location features. Turning this on will help them obtain the specific location of users or help them share approximate locations by toggling that feature off.
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Steps for turning on location services on Android
Turning on location settings on Android are similar to iOS, and are often enabled during device setup. But users can also enable them anytime through the following steps:
- Going to settings and then to location services.
- Then move the slider to allow access to the location.
- Then users can choose the accuracy of their choice from high accuracy, battery saving, and device only. The high-accuracy mode uses GPS, WiFi, and mobile networks. The Battery saving mode uses only WiFi and mobile networks. The last one only uses GPS to guesstimate the user’s location.
- If the device presents the user with a location consent prompt, they should tap on agree.
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Should users keep the location services on or off?
Android allows users to allow their apps to access their location so that they can be provided with information (location-based alerts or services). For instance, turning on location services helps users find their favorite local restaurants, gyms, hair salons, and the like. This feature provides them with a great deal of information.
Users can easily determine which apps use the device’s location, via the quick settings. They can scroll down and then touch and hold the location icon. Once they tap on the app location permissions, there are options namely allowed all the time, while in use, and not allowed. They can even find the apps using location services.
Users can also switch the location off if they would rather not let any app know their whereabouts. A lot of conspiracy theorists do support such an action. However, it has a major flaw where users might see their apps work awkwardly and miss out on services, promotions, and deals based on location.
They can turn off location settings by going to the location settings in their phone and toggling the slider off.
Users should be careful. They will lose out on many services they use daily. Maps and ride-sharing apps won’t get the proper location, and other activity-tracking apps won’t be of any use either.
