Location sharing drains your iPhone battery, but the amount depends on how often it updates and which apps use it

Yes, location sharing uses battery power. Your iPhone's GPS radio, cellular radio, and Wi-Fi radio all draw current to pinpoint your location. The drain is real but manageable — it ranks below video playback and gaming, but above email or web browsing. If you leave location sharing on for every app all day, you will notice the difference. If you use it selectively, the battery hit is small enough that most people do not see it in their daily charge cycle.

The actual drain depends on three things: how often the location updates, which radio it uses (GPS is the heaviest), and how many apps are requesting your location at once. A navigation app running GPS continuously will drain faster than a weather app checking your location once per hour. Understanding what drains the most helps you decide which location features to keep on and which to turn off.

Key Takeaways

  • GPS drains more battery than Wi-Fi or cellular location, so turning off GPS when you do not need navigation saves more power than disabling location entirely.
  • Apps that update location constantly (maps, fitness trackers, location-sharing services) drain significantly more than apps that check once per hour or less.
  • Turning location off for apps that do not need it is faster and simpler than managing location settings app by app.
  • Background App Refresh can cause location updates even when you are not actively using an app, so disabling it for location-heavy apps saves battery without losing the app itself.
  • In Settings > Privacy > Location Services, you can see which apps requested your location in the past 24 hours and adjust each one individually.

How location services use your iPhone's radios

Your iPhone has three ways to find your location: GPS, Wi-Fi networks, and cellular towers. GPS is the most accurate but also the most power-hungry — it uses a dedicated radio that stays on and constantly calculates your position. Wi-Fi location uses less power because your iPhone is already connected to Wi-Fi for data. Cellular location uses the least power because it piggybacks on the cellular connection your phone maintains anyway.

When you turn on location services, your iPhone does not always use GPS first. It starts with Wi-Fi and cellular, which are faster and cheaper in battery terms. GPS only activates when an app specifically requests high accuracy — typically maps, navigation, or fitness apps. A weather app checking your location once per hour will almost never trigger GPS. A running app that tracks your route will keep GPS on the entire time you run.

The battery drain also depends on how many apps are requesting location at the same time. If Maps is running and your fitness app is also tracking in the background, both are pulling from the same GPS radio, but the radio stays on longer and works harder. Closing apps that do not need location running in the background is one of the fastest ways to reduce drain.

Which apps drain the most battery through location

Navigation and maps apps (Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze) drain the most because they request GPS continuously and update your position every few seconds. A 30-minute drive can use 5 to 10 percent of your battery. Fitness and health apps (Apple Health, Strava, Nike Run Club) are similar — they track your route in real time and keep GPS active for the entire workout.

Location-sharing apps (Find My Friends, Life360, Google Family Link) update your location periodically but not constantly. The drain depends on the update interval — some refresh every minute, others every 15 minutes. A 15-minute interval uses roughly one-third the battery of a one-minute interval.

Weather apps, news apps, and social media apps typically request your location once per hour or less, and most do it over Wi-Fi or cellular rather than GPS. The battery impact is usually too small to measure. Dating apps and shopping apps request location but often only when you open them, not in the background.

How to check which apps are using location in the background

Open Settings, then tap Privacy, then tap Location Services. You will see a list of every app that has requested location permission. Scroll through and look for a purple arrow next to an app name — that means the app requested location in the past 24 hours. A hollow arrow means it requested location at some point but not recently.

Tap any app to see three options: Never, While Using, or Always. "Never" turns off location for that app entirely. "While Using" lets the app see your location only when you have it open. "Always" lets the app request your location even when it is running in the background or closed.

For most apps, "While Using" is the right choice. It lets the app work when you need it but stops background location requests. Change any app set to "Always" unless you have a specific reason to keep it on — for example, Find My Friends needs "Always" to work, but your banking app does not.

Turning off Background App Refresh for location-heavy apps

Even if an app is set to "While Using," Background App Refresh can cause it to request location when you are not actively using it. Open Settings, then tap General, then tap Background App Refresh. You will see a list of every app with background refresh enabled.

Scroll to any app that uses location heavily (Maps, fitness apps, location-sharing apps) and toggle it off. This prevents the app from running in the background and requesting location updates when you are not using it. The app will still work normally when you open it.

You can also turn off Background App Refresh globally by toggling the switch at the top of the screen, but that affects all apps. Turning it off selectively for location-heavy apps gives you the battery savings without losing background updates for apps you actually want running in the background.

GPS versus Wi-Fi and cellular location: which uses less battery

Wi-Fi location uses roughly 50 percent less battery than GPS. Cellular location uses roughly 75 percent less battery than GPS. If you turn off GPS but leave Wi-Fi and cellular location on, most apps will still work — they just will not be as accurate. Weather apps, news apps, and shopping apps will function fine. Navigation will be less precise but still usable for short distances.

To turn off GPS while keeping Wi-Fi and cellular location on, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. Scroll to the bottom and tap System Services. Toggle off GPS. This is a middle ground: you keep location services for apps that do not need high accuracy, but you stop the most power-hungry radio from running.

For maximum battery life, turn off Location Services entirely. Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and toggle the switch at the top. Every app will lose access to your location, and you will not be able to use Maps for navigation or Find My to locate your device. This is the nuclear option and is only worth it if you are in an emergency low-battery situation.

Practical settings to reduce location battery drain

Start by opening Settings > Privacy > Location Services and changing any app set to "Always" to "While Using" unless you have a specific reason to keep it on. This alone usually saves 2 to 5 percent of daily battery.

Next, open Settings > General > Background App Refresh and toggle off background refresh for Maps, fitness apps, and location-sharing apps. This prevents them from updating your location when you are not using them.

If you do not use navigation regularly, turn off GPS by going to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services and toggling off GPS. Wi-Fi and cellular location will still work for weather, news, and other low-accuracy apps.

Finally, close navigation and fitness apps when you are done using them instead of letting them run in the background. Swiping up from the bottom of the screen (or swiping left on older iPhones) closes the app completely and stops any background location requests when ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does turning off location services completely save more battery than just turning off GPS?

Yes, but the difference is small. Turning off GPS saves roughly 10 to 15 percent of location-related battery drain. Turning off all location services saves roughly 15 to 20 percent. For most people, turning off GPS and changing apps to "While Using" is enough. Complete location shutdown is only worth it if you are in a true emergency low-battery situation.

Will turning off location for an app break it?

It depends on the app. Maps, navigation, fitness apps, and Find My will not work without location. Weather, news, shopping, and social media apps will work fine without location — they just will not show location-specific results. If an app stops working after you turn off location, that app needs it to function.

Does Find My drain battery if I leave it on all the time?

Find My uses location services but not continuously. It updates your location periodically and uses Wi-Fi and cellular location before GPS. The battery drain is noticeable but not severe — roughly 1 to 3 percent per day if you leave it on constantly. Turning it off saves battery, but most people find the ability to locate a lost device worth the cost.

Can I use maps for navigation without draining the battery as much?

Not significantly. Navigation requires GPS to work accurately, and GPS is the most power-hungry option. You can reduce drain slightly by using Wi-Fi calling instead of cellular data, or by closing other apps, but the GPS itself will still draw the same power. Plugging in a charger while navigating is the practical solution.

Does location sharing with family drain more battery than location services alone?

Location sharing adds a small amount of drain because it sends your location to Apple's servers periodically, but the difference is usually less than 1 percent per day. The location request itself (GPS, Wi-Fi, or cellular) uses far more power than sending the data. Turning off location sharing saves battery, but the savings are small compared to turning off GPS or closing navigation apps.