Decision sheet — Android & iPhone
Background location: do you need it?
Usually not. Android's own developer guidance says the majority of features need location only while you are using the app. Background access — “Allow all the time” on Android, background use on iPhone — is meant for features that must work while the app is closed, such as continuous family location sharing you agreed to, or an alert when you arrive somewhere. If you cannot name that feature, lower the setting to “while in use”.
- Read6–8 min read
- You needThe phone in your hand, unlocked
- Works onAndroid 10 and later · iPhone (iOS 13 and later for Allow Once)
Verified: October 2026 against Android Developers documentation, Google Android Help and Apple Support.
An app needs broader permission to receive location while it is not in use. Decide whether that benefit justifies continuous access — Google's guidance for developers says background location should be critical to the app's core function, offer a clear benefit to you, and be obvious when it happens.
How to decide whether background location is justified
- Name the feature. Write down the one alert or function that has to work while the app is closed — a family sharing you all agreed to, a geofence reminder, a commute alert. Android's documentation gives continuous sharing with family members and geofencing as typical examples.
- Find the current setting. On Android: Settings › Location › App location permissions, then look under “Allowed all the time”. On iPhone: Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services, then tap the app.
- Try “while in use” first. On Android choose “Allow only while using the app”; on iPhone choose While Using. Use the app for a few days. If the feature still works, you never needed background access.
- Notice the reminders. Android sends a notification after an app first uses location in the background, reminding you it is allowed all the time. iPhone reminds you from time to time, shows the locations used on a map, and asks whether to keep allowing it. Treat each reminder as a prompt to re-check.
- Set a review date. Remove background access when the trip, the school term or the agreement that justified it is over.
- Check what the app does with the data. The permission says when the app may read location; Apple notes that once you let a third-party app use your location you are subject to its terms and privacy policy, so read that policy for storage and sharing.
Did you get a background reminder?
Think back over the last few days of using the phone and pick what you have seen.
Android is reminding you of a background grant.
Android's documentation says the system schedules a notification to remind you that you allowed an app to access device location all the time. It is a reminder, not a warning of misuse.
Do this: Open the app's Location page and decide whether the feature still needs “Allow all the time”.
iPhone is asking you to confirm.
Apple says your device reminds you from time to time that an app is using your location, shows those locations on a map, and asks whether you want to keep allowing background use.
Do this: Answer the alert on purpose: keep it only if you can name the feature that needs it.
An app is using location in the background now.
Apple counts background use with a blue pill in the status bar as “in use”, so this can appear even with While Using access.
Do this: Check which app it is in Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services.
Not proof either way.
A missing reminder may simply mean no app has used background location since you last answered. The official help does not describe a reminder schedule, so look at the setting itself.
Do this: On Android, open “Allowed all the time”; on iPhone, tap each app in Location Services.
Android stepped in.
If an app is unused for a long time, Android can revoke its permissions and stop it running in the background. You can review these under Apps › Unused apps.
Do this: Leave it paused unless you start using the app again.
Edge cases — what background access does not guarantee
- Not a live feed
- Background permission lets an app read location while closed. Neither Apple's nor Google's help describes how often a given third-party app does so; the official help does not describe an update interval, so do not assume a continuous track.
- Same precision as foreground
- On Android, background location has the same precision as foreground location — approximate stays approximate. Turning precise location off still applies when the app runs in the background.
- Older Android
- Before Android 10, an app that received foreground location automatically received background access as well. On those phones there is no separate background choice, so review the app's location permission as a whole.
- A phone that is off or offline
- A phone that is switched off cannot report anything. Whether an app queues points while the phone has no connection is up to that app; the official help does not describe it.
- Hiding the iPhone map is not turning alerts off
- Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Location Alerts › Show Map in Location Alerts only hides the map. You still receive the alerts.
- Google Play policy
- Google Play restricts background location to apps that need it for their core functionality and meet its policy. That limits what apps may ask for; it is not a promise about what a particular app does.
Background location on Android and iPhone
| Android | iPhone | |
|---|---|---|
| Setting name | Allow all the time | Always (background use) |
| How it is granted | Separate background permission on Android 10+, asked after foreground access | App asks for background use after While Using was granted |
| Visible sign while in use | The official help does not describe a status-bar sign for location | Blue pill in the status bar; arrow icon |
| Reminder | Notification after the first background use | Periodic reminder with a map of locations used |
| Precision in background | Same as foreground (precise or approximate) | Apple's help does not describe this |
| Automatic clean-up | Unused apps can lose permissions | Reset Location & Privacy, or Safety Check on iOS 16+ |
Ways to get the feature without constant access
Share only when you choose
Use “Ask every time” on Android or Ask Next Time on iPhone, so location is shared at the moment you open the app.
Share for one session
On iPhone, Allow Once covers one session. Some Android apps offer a location button that shares a precise point for one session.
Lower the precision
If background updates are justified, turn precise location off when an approximate area is enough.
Use the phone's built-in sharing
For family sharing, a system feature such as Find My or Google's location sharing has its own list of people you can review; check who is on it.
Background location is granted on the phone by the person using it, and both Android and iPhone remind that person afterwards. It cannot be switched on from a website or by knowing a phone number, and a service that claims to keep a hidden background track running is describing something the official help does not describe.
Official sources (checked October 2026)
- Android Developers — Access location in the background
- Android Developers — Location permissions (foreground, background, accuracy)
- Android Help — Manage location permissions for apps
- Android Help — Change app permissions on your Android phone
- Apple — About privacy and Location Services
- Apple — Control the location information you share on iPhone
Questions people ask
What does “Allow all the time” actually mean on Android?
The app can use your location at any time, even when you are not using it. Google's help lists it as an option for location only; camera and microphone do not have it.
Which apps genuinely need background location?
Android's documentation gives examples such as an app that continuously shares location with family members, or one that uses geofencing to react when you leave or arrive home. Most features need only while-in-use access.
Will I be told if an app uses location in the background?
Yes, on both systems. Android sends a notification after an app first uses background location. iPhone shows a blue pill in the status bar and reminds you from time to time with a map of locations used.
Why does Android ask for background location separately?
On Android 10 and later, background access is its own permission. Android's guidance tells developers to ask for foreground access first and background access later, so you see the wider request as a second, separate choice.
How often does a background app read my location?
Apple's and Google's help do not publish an interval for third-party apps. It depends on the app, so do not assume a continuous track.
I agreed to family sharing — should I still review it?
Yes. Agreements change. Set a date to check whether the feature is still needed, and lower the permission when the reason has gone.
What happens to background access if I stop using the app?
On Android, unused apps can have permissions revoked and background activity stopped. On iPhone, set the app to Never or delete it; Reset Location & Privacy returns all settings to default.