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Manage which apps can detect your Mac location
Location Services allows apps and websites to gather and use information based on the current location of your Mac. Your approximate location is determined using information from local Wi-Fi networks, and is collected by Location Services in a manner that doesn’t personally identify you.
Turn Location Services off
On your Mac, choose Apple menu
> System Preferences, click Security & Privacy, then click Privacy.
Click Location Services.
Click the lock icon
to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.
Deselect Enable Location Services.
If you turn off Location Services on your Mac, your precise location is not sent to Apple. To deliver relevant search suggestions, Apple may use the IP address of your internet connection to approximate your location by matching it to a geographic region.
Even if you disable Location Services, third-party applications and websites may still use other ways to determine your location. For safety purposes, however, your Mac’s location information may be used for emergency calls to aid response efforts regardless of whether you enable Location Services.
Specify which apps and system services can use Location Services
On your Mac, choose Apple menu
> System Preferences, click Security & Privacy, then click Privacy.
Click Location Services.
Click the lock icon
to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.
Select the checkbox next to an app to allow it to use Location Services. Deselect the checkbox to turn off Location Services for that app.
If you turn Location Services off for an app, you’re asked to turn it on again the next time that app tries to use your location data.
Scroll to the bottom of the list of apps to reveal System Services, then click the Details button to see specific system services that use your location.
Location-Based Suggestions allows the location of your Mac to be used by Safari Suggestions or Spotlight Suggestions.
Significant Locations allows your Mac to identify places significant to you in order to provide useful location-related information in Maps, Calendar, Reminders, and more. Significant Locations are encrypted and can’t be read by Apple. Click Details to view a list of locations that have been identified. You can select and remove locations from the list or click Clear History to remove all the locations.
If you allow third-party apps or websites to use your current location, any information they collect is governed by their terms and privacy policies. It’s recommended that you learn about the privacy practices of those parties.
When you use Safari Suggestions or Spotlight Suggestions, the location of your Mac at the time you submit a search query to Safari or Spotlight is sent to Apple to make suggestions more relevant and to improve other Apple products and services.