One of the main criticisms of mobile phones has to do with the fact that thanks to them people can always be located. By call or by yourself gps of telephone. It is precisely the location and GPS functions of the iPhone those that are in the eye of all: users, security professionals and cyber criminals.
And that there is one app invasive that you will always want to access the mobile location. the system itself iOS of your iPhone accesses and stores this information in several ways. One of them, relatively little known, is called Important places.
For many years, Manzana has focused on caring for and protecting the privacy and security of user data. Paying special attention to iOS, the operating system of the iPhone, there are more and more things that can be blocked, accepted or denied in the section of privacy of the telephone. And one of the most difficult aspects of that is mobile location.
So if any TechMarkup reader has an iPhone, they can allow individual apps to use location, with different levels of authorization. It is also possible to do this with the iOS system itself, called System Services.
These features also use the iPhone’s GPS, and the user can stop that if they are concerned about their privacy. And finally, the function Important places, which stores the location of mobile device for use in iOS applications and is not as well known.
How to turn Location Services on and off for apps
Since Settings > Privacy > Location, you can control which apps access mobile location. The information is provided by the GPS of the iPhone, as well as other data provided by Bluetooth Y Wifi.
You can directly disable location sharing preferences by clicking the button Location or configure the applications one by one. Also, whenever an app wants to use location, iOS will ask for it.
To make the control more personalized, there are four levels of privacy:
– You can always prevent access to the location.
– The device always asks when the location is needed.
– Access when needed, without the need to ask.
– Or, finally, always have access to the location.
And when that happens, you will see a notice at the top from the iPhone screen:
– A empty arrow when an application receives the location of the mobile device “under certain circumstances”, according to the iOS system itself.
– The purple arrow indicates that an app has recently used the location.
– Finally, the gray arrow indicates an app or service that has used the location “in the last 24 hours.”
iPhone GPS and System Services
In addition to third-party apps and apps that come with iOS, there are other system services that sometimes require iPhone GPS to know mobile location. will be found in Settings > Privacy > Location > System services.
You can disable the options one by one if privacy is a concern, but make sure you know what you’re doing, as each of these disabled options affects the operation of sOS and the iPhone. If you notice that these changes do not make the cell phone perform well, you can still reverse the situation.
Specifically, the system services that need iPhone GPS data are related to the functionality Search my Iphone, find nearby cellular networks, share your location functionality in various applications, such as Messages either WhatsAppcontrol and manage devices through iPhone through HomeKit, and much more.
What to do with the Important Places option
After reading all of the above, you now know the most important thing about how iOS uses the GPS of an iPhone. But a slightly hidden option could draw the attention of those who are strict about their privacy. It’s called Important Places and can be found at Settings > Privacy > Location > System services > Important places. In English, it is called Significant Locations.
As noted on iPhone itself, when activated, it “authorizes iPhone and iCloud-connected devices to remember the places that are important to you.” The reason for being is “to offer you useful location information in Maps, Calendar, Photos and other apps”.
And for the peace of mind of users, iOS says that “the important places are point to point encrypted and Apple can’t read them.” Not only that. When you want to access, iOS will ask you to enter the password or use Touch ID or Face ID.
These waypoints are moving locations that an iPhone’s GPS has detected over time. And iOS infers that they are places that you visit with some frequency, so you have to take it into account. The place of habitual residence, the place of work, where the parents and/or friends of the owner of the iPhone live, where it is usually bought, etc.
If you still do not want this information to be recorded, Important Places can be deactivated by clicking on the corresponding button.
can also be touched Delete history to delete previous records. How will this affect an iPhone or Apple Watch? In different ways. Two examples:
– You will not be able to get predictive driving directions in Apple Maps.
– Y Photos will not be able to create photo albums or collections based on a specific location or date, among other cases.
