Check which system services are using your location
Under the list of apps in Location Services there is a second list, with a dozen switches nobody has ever opened.
Works on: macOS Ventura 13 and later · checked on macOS Golden Gate 27
Published: · Source: Snoflaa
System Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services shows the apps that have asked where you are. Scroll past every one of them: at the bottom sits System Services, with a Details button, and behind it is what macOS itself does with your location.
Two of those switches deserve a think:
- Suggestions & Search uses your location for suggestions and search.
- Significant locations lets the Mac learn the places that matter to you, so that Maps, Calendar and Reminders can offer related information. The list is encrypted and Apple cannot read it. Details shows it, and you can remove places one by one or clear the whole history.
Whenever something is using your Mac’s location, an arrow appears next to Control Centre in the menu bar. It is the visible sign that any of this is happening, so it is worth recognising.
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