Last updated: October 24, 2026
Quick Answer: How to Turn Off Location Sharing on a Child’s Phone usually takes 5 to 10 minutes if you have the child’s device, passcode, and account access. Start inside the app. Then check the phone’s own location permissions so the setting does not pop back on later. The taps change across iPhone, Android, Google Maps, Find My, and Snap Map, but the goal stays the same: stop the child’s phone from sending its position to people or apps that do not need it.
Key Takeaways
- You need the child’s phone, the passcode or parental access, and a few minutes to review sharing apps.
- Stop sharing in the app first, then limit the phone’s location permission for stronger control.
- You can stop sharing on an iPhone without disabling the whole phone, but you need the right switch.
- You need to switch off each app’s map sharing separately because Google and Snapchat use different controls.
What you need first
Have the child’s phone, the passcode or parental access for that phone or account, and a few minutes to check the apps that can share location. On iPhone, that usually means Apple ID access for Find My. On Android, it often means the child’s Google account for Maps and account-level sharing. For Snap Map, you need the child’s Snapchat login.
Before anything else, sort out the difference between sharing and location use. They are not the same thing. A phone can still use GPS for weather, maps, or emergency services after you stop sending location to friends.
Usually, you will want to check four places:
- Find My on iPhone
- Google Maps location sharing
- Snap Map in Snapchat
- Device-level location permissions in iPhone or Android settings
Needless to say, one app turned off does not stop the others.
If the child uses more than one app to share location, each one needs its own switch. One closed door does not lock the house.
How to turn off location sharing on a child’s phone
First stop sharing in the app; after that, tighten the phone’s location permission if you want a firmer lockout. That order matters because some apps keep showing the last shared position until you switch off the share inside the app itself.
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Open the location-sharing app on the child’s phone.
Start with the app most likely doing the sharing: Find My, Google Maps, or Snapchat. Once you are in the right place, you should see the child’s account name, profile picture, map, or a list of people. Be careful here; the wrong screen wastes time. -
Turn off sharing inside Find My on iPhone if it is enabled.
In Find My, open the People tab, pick the person or family member receiving the location, and choose Stop Sharing My Location or something similar. Sometimes you will need Settings > [child’s name] > Find My instead, then confirm that Share My Location is off. When it works, the sharing contact no longer gets live updates from that iPhone. -
Turn off Google Maps location sharing on Android or iPhone.
Open Google Maps, tap the profile icon, choose Location sharing, and stop sharing with every contact listed there. If the child is signed into a Google account on the phone, that is often where the location has been shared even when the phone itself looks normal. Once it is off, Google Maps shows no active location-sharing contacts for that account. -
Check Snap Map and shut off Ghost Mode if needed.
In Snapchat, open the Snap Map, tap the gear or settings icon, and switch on Ghost Mode or remove specific people who can see the location. If that step worked, the child disappears from the map for anyone following them there. If Snapchat was not sharing location, this screen may already be off. -
Review the phone’s location permissions for each app.
On iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. On Android, go to Settings > Location > App permissions or Permissions manager. Change apps from Always to While Using the App, or choose Don’t allow for apps that do not need location. When that setting holds, the app cannot keep tracking the phone in the background all day. -
Check whether the phone itself is still sharing with family features.
On iPhone, look in Settings > [child’s name] > Find My and confirm whether the device is part of Family Sharing. On some Android setups, location sharing may also be tied to the child’s Google account rather than one app. If a family feature is still on, the map may keep updating even after you changed one app. -
Restart the phone and recheck each sharing screen.
A restart is not magic, but it is a good way to catch a setting that did not save. After the phone comes back on, reopen Find My, Google Maps, and Snapchat to confirm each one says sharing is off. You want no active sharing contacts, no live map updates, and no app with Always permission unless you left it there on purpose.
If you want a broader setup after this, the hub on Parental Controls and Device Setup belongs here, because location sharing usually sits alongside account and permission settings.
How to stop location sharing on iPhone without breaking everything
An iPhone can stop sharing without turning into a brick, but the correct switch matters. The setting you want is Share My Location inside Find My, not the whole Location Services master switch.
When the child’s iPhone is sharing through Find My, turn off Share My Location first. That stops the phone from broadcasting to family or chosen contacts. Then decide whether any apps still need access to location for maps, school pickup, or ride apps. Switch off Location Services entirely, and the phone loses GPS access for many features, including navigation and some emergency-related functions.
A better middle ground is to leave Location Services on and change individual apps to While Using the App or Never. On iPhone, that is under Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. In that list, check Find My, Google Maps, Snapchat, and any ride, weather, or messaging apps. If someone can still see the child on a map after turning off Share My Location, the culprit is usually a second app or a second account, not the iPhone itself. That mix-up is common.
One common mistake is leaving Find My iPhone on and assuming that means location is still publicly shared. It does not. Find My iPhone helps locate the device if it is lost; Share My Location is what sends the live position to other people. Those are related, but they are not the same switch.
Another mistake is signing out of one Apple ID on the phone without checking the linked Family Sharing setup. That can break Messages, photos, and app purchases in ways that create a new mess. Change the location-sharing setting first; do the account cleanup only if the current setup is wrong for the child’s age or your family’s rules.
How to stop Google Maps and Snap Map from showing the child’s location
Each app needs its own off switch because Google and Snapchat do not use the same control. If the child uses both apps, turning one off leaves the other active.
In Google Maps, tap the profile icon, choose Location sharing, and remove every person listed there. If the child was sharing “until you turn this off,” that share usually ends as soon as you remove the contact. If it was sent through a Google account on another device, check that account too. The screen should finish with nobody listed as an active viewer.
In Snapchat, location sharing lives in Snap Map. Open the map, tap the settings gear, and enable Ghost Mode if you want no one to see the child on the map. If you only want to limit some people, remove those friends from location access instead. Snapchat is easy to miss because the app can share location in the background even when the child is not actively using it. Sneaky little thing.
These settings are account-based. A child may open the phone and still look “off” at the device level, while Google Maps or Snapchat keeps sharing from the account. That is why the app screen matters more than the home screen icon.
If the phone is used by more than one profile or account, repeat the check on each signed-in account. A second Google account on the same phone can keep sharing even after the first one is fixed.
What to check in device-level privacy settings after app sharing is off
Check the phone’s permission manager so the apps do not start sharing again the next time the child taps a prompt. A single Allow while using the app or Always allow tap can reopen location access later.
On iPhone, open Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and review the list app by app. Use the three common statuses as a guide: Never, Ask Next Time or When I Share, and Always. For most apps that do not need background tracking, While Using the App is the safer choice. On Android, use Settings > Location > App permissions or Permissions manager and review each app there. On recent Android versions, you may also see a precise location toggle; turning that off gives the app a rough area instead of an exact street-level point.
People often leave weather, delivery, or social apps on Always because the phone asked once and the setting got forgotten. Then location keeps running in the background. They also switch off the wrong app and miss the one that matters, such as Google Maps or Snapchat.
There is a trade-off here: some apps stop working well when location is restricted. Maps may lose turn-by-turn reliability, and some school, rideshare, or family logistics apps may ask again for permission. That is not a reason to leave everything open. It is a reason to decide app by app.
If the goal is only to stop sharing with other people, leave the phone’s general location tools on and block the specific sharing features. If the goal is to make sure no app can track the phone in the background, you may need to set more than one app to Never or remove location access entirely.
When the setting keeps coming back
When location sharing reappears, the usual causes are account sync, a second device, or a family feature you have not checked yet. It is rarely one mysterious “glitch.”
Start by checking whether the child has another signed-in phone, tablet, or browser session. Find My and Google settings can sync across devices, so a change made on one screen may be undone by a second device with the same account. Then recheck the app-specific sharing screen on the original phone. If the person or map view still appears, there is another active share somewhere.
If you are dealing with an iPhone, confirm the child is not sharing from another Apple device in the same Apple ID family setup. If you are dealing with Android, confirm the Google account on the phone is the one you actually changed. A child can have more than one Google account, and the wrong one is easy to edit by mistake.
A quick reset step helps here: restart the phone, then open Find My, Google Maps, and Snapchat again. If the setting stayed off after a restart, you probably fixed the right place. If it did not, the account or family setup still needs attention.
If the child is using a school-managed device, a shared family phone, or an account controlled by someone else, changes may be restricted by device policy. In that case, the app or account owner may need to change the setting from their side.
Can my child still share their location with friends?
Yes, if another app or contact list still has permission. Turning off one sharing path, such as Find My, does not remove every other path automatically. Google Maps and Snap Map can still share location if they are left on, so each app needs its own check.
How do I stop apps from using location on a child’s phone?
Open the phone’s permission settings and change each app from Always to While Using the App or Never. On iPhone, that is in Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. On Android, use Settings > Location > App permissions. The result is that the app can no longer read the phone’s location in the background.
What is the difference between location services and location sharing?
Location services are the phone’s ability to use GPS, Wi‑Fi, and cell data to find where it is. Location sharing is sending that position to another person or app. You can usually turn off sharing without turning off services, which keeps maps and emergency features more usable.
Can I turn off location sharing without breaking emergency features?
Usually, yes. Turning off Find My sharing, Google Maps sharing, or Snap Map does not automatically disable emergency calling or basic phone location features. If you switch off the entire Location Services setting, though, more features can stop working, so it is better to disable sharing first and only tighten permissions as needed.
Drafted with AI; not yet reviewed by a person.
