{"id":356884,"date":"2021-10-22T19:00:58","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T16:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-are-precise-and-approximate-locations-on-android\/"},"modified":"2021-10-22T19:00:58","modified_gmt":"2021-10-22T16:00:58","slug":"what-are-precise-and-approximate-locations-on-android","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-are-precise-and-approximate-locations-on-android\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Are \u201cPrecise\u201d and \u201cApproximate\u201d Locations on Android?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a279d5211705\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a279d5211705\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-are-precise-and-approximate-locations-on-android\/#Precise_vs_Approximate\" >Precise vs. Approximate<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-are-precise-and-approximate-locations-on-android\/#Why_Does_This_Matter\" >Why Does This Matter?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-are-precise-and-approximate-locations-on-android\/#Will_Apps_Support_It\" >Will Apps Support It?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#What Are \u201cPrecise\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>roximate\u201d Locations on Android?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage wp-image-763228 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/precise-approx-location.png?width=398&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 400w, https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/precise-approx-location.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, 400w, 1200w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/precise-approx-location.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Android 12 location settings.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-credittext=\"Google\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\">Google<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For a long time, granting an app permission to access your location meant one thing\u2014your <em>exact<\/em> location. Nowadays, Android gives you two choices\u2014\u201cPrecise\u201d and \u201cApproximate.\u201d There is a big difference between the two options.<\/p>\n<p>Google followed in Apple\u2019s footsteps with the introduction of \u201cPrecise\u201d and \u201cApproximate\u201d location access in Android 12. Previously, you could restrict an app to use your location only once or only while using the app, but it was still your <em>exact<\/em> location.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>With iOS 15, the iPhone Stays Ahead of Android in Privacy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Precise_vs_Approximate\"><\/span>Precise vs. Approximate<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The difference between\u00a0\u201cPrecise\u201d and \u201cApproximate\u201d is pretty self-explanatory. It\u2019s essentially the difference between telling someone your street address versus telling them the city you live in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrecise\u201d location uses your phone\u2019s sensors\u2014GPS, mostly\u2014to determine your exact location. At best, it can figure out where you are down to the meter. \u201cApproximate\u201d location uses\u00a0Wi-Fi and cellular data to locate you within 100 meters.<\/p>\n<p>Technically, this has always been an option in Android, but it was a system-wide switch. That meant sacrificing the functionality of apps that legitimately need your precise location to restrict <em>all<\/em> apps. Starting in Android 12, individual apps will give you the choice.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Does_This_Matter\"><\/span>Why Does This Matter?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-763236\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Screenshot_20211020-171724.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Instagram's permission prompt.\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>So what\u2019s the big deal about\u00a0\u201cPrecise\u201d and \u201cApproximate,\u201d anyway? Stop and think about the apps that use your location. Weather apps. Shopping apps. <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social media<\/a> apps. Navigation apps. How many of these need to know your exact location?<\/p>\n<p>Sure, Google Maps needs to know your precise location to help you get around, that makes sense. Does a weather app need to know your address to tell you the weather in your city? Not really. Does Instagram need it to show you places nearby? Nope.<\/p>\n<p>There are a lot of situations where a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> location is just as useful as an exact street address. That\u2019s the benefit of the \u201cApproximate\u201d location permission. It allows you to say \u201cyes, I live in this area, but that\u2019s all you need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Will_Apps_Support_It\"><\/span>Will Apps Support It?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The question with new Android features is always: which apps will actually support it? Apps built for Android 12 and above are required to support the feature, but, of course, many apps existed long before Android 12.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrecise\u201d and \u201cApproximate\u201d are available for apps built for earlier versions of Android, but there are some complications. For example, I can set Instagram\u2019s location access to \u201cApproximate,\u201d but when I try to use a location-based feature, it asks me to enable \u201cPrecise.\u201d I shouldn\u2019t need to do that.<\/p>\n<p>The same thing happens with a weather app I use. It asks me to enable \u201cPrecise\u201d location, yet the app works perfectly fine if I select \u201cKeep Approximate Location.\u201d As with all new Android features, there\u2019s going to be a break-in period.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>What Is the Privacy Dashboard on Android?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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Nowadays, Android gives you two choices\u2014\u201cPrecise\u201d and \u201cApproximate.\u201d There is a big difference between the two options. Google followed in Apple\u2019s footsteps with the introduction of \u201cPrecise\u201d and \u201cApproximate\u201d&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":356885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/precise-approx-location.png?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-356884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}