Choosing the Location Services Authorization to Request

The authorization status that your app has determines if and when it receives location events. There are two types of authorization your app can request:

When In Use

Your app can use all location services and receive events while the app is in use.

Always

Your app can use all location services and receive events even if the user is not aware that your app is running. If your app isn’t running, the system launches your app and delivers the event.

In general, iOS apps are considered in use when they're in the foreground or running in the background with the background location usage indicator enabled.

Whenever possible, request only When In Use authorization. This mode has powerful features, allowing your app to:

• Access all available location services while the user is using the app. If the user stops using your app, any outstanding requests suspend until the user resumes using your app.

• Continue to get location updates even after your app enters the background, if you’ve enabled background location updates in your Xcode project. See Handling Location Events in the Background for more information.

• Use location notification triggers to launch. If your app can rely on your user’s interaction, set up a UNLocationNotificationTrigger to notify users when they enter a relevant region. When users click through the notification the system launches the app, making it eligible to receive the location event. This method requires only When In Use authorization, and lets users to decide at a relevant moment whether to share their location with your app.

Location services are available to apps with CLAuthorizationStatus.authorizedWhenInUse only while the app is “in use”. On all platforms that support When In Use authorization, an app is considered in use:

• When the app runs in the foreground.

• In the few seconds after an app leaves the foreground, a short grace period for your app to finish any current location tasks the user initiated.

• When the app shows the background location usage indicator (showsBackgroundLocationIndicator). On iOS, the indicator is a blue bar or pill at the top of the screen; on watchOS it’s a small icon.

For watchOS, the system always considers a complication on the current watch face to be in use. However, while the complication can receive location updates, you request authorization prompts from the main watch app. On watchOS there’s no way to opt out of showing the background location usage indicator.

Your app might require Always authorization in some situations where users can’t or don’t want to engage with your app every time you need location information. You may need to ask for Always authorization if:

• Your app performs automated tasks during which a prompt might be inconvenient or undesirable. For example, if your app triggers automatic actions when the user enters a location, such as turning on the lights, your app may require Always authorization.

• Your app records numerous locations throughout the day, such as for a diary app. The user may prefer to allow Always authorization so your app can record locations even when it’s not in use, and without prompting the user.

Keep in mind that asking for authorization doesn’t guarantee your app will receive it. If you request Always authorization, the user has the option of granting your app When In Use authorization instead. You must always be prepared to run with When In Use authorization.

While all platforms support When In Use authorization, the availability and functionality of Always authorization varies, as follows:

tvOS

Only supports When In Use authorization

watchOS

Typically, apps only need When In Use authorization. The watch face context is effectively always in use; if you’re developing a complication, your app likely needs only When In Use authorization. Core location API doesn’t provide launching behavior for watchOS.

macOS

Core Location automatically prompts the user for permission when you start any location service; you don’t have to request authorization. Users can either allow or deny authorization. When In Use and Always authorizations are functionally equivalent.

Mac Catalyst

Your UIKit code can and should request the authorization that makes sense on iOS; the same choice will work when the app runs on the Mac. When In Use and Always authorizations are functionally equivalent on the Mac.

iOS

Supports When In Use and Always authorization.

Apps compiled with iOS 13 or later SDKs but running in iOS 12 or earlier will exhibit behavior consistent with iOS 12 for When In Use authorization. Specifically, in iOS 12 or earlier, some location services are only available to apps with Always authorization, as shown in Table 1.