At some point, nearly every browser has popped up a message asking whether a site can know your location. It is easy to tap Allow without thinking twice, especially when you are in a hurry to check a map or find a nearby store.
The good news is that every major browser keeps a record of which sites you allowed and lets you change that answer later. You can review the list, block individual sites, or turn off location access for any new site that asks.
This article walks through how to check and manage browser location permissions on Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox, across both computers and phones. It focuses only on website permissions inside the browser, not the separate location settings for apps on your phone.
Contents
- What to Check First Before Changing Anything
- How to Review and Block Location on Chrome
- How to Manage Location in Safari on Mac
- How to Manage Location in Firefox
- How to Manage Location in Microsoft Edge
- iPhone vs. Android: What Is Different
- If a Site Still Seems to Know Your Location
- Things to Watch Out For
🔍 What to Check First Before Changing Anything
Before changing any setting, it helps to understand that there are actually two separate layers of permission involved.
One is your device’s own location setting, which controls whether any app, including your browser, is allowed to see your location at all.
The other is the browser’s internal list of individual website permissions, which decides which specific sites can ask for your location once the browser itself has access.
If the device-level permission is off, the browser cannot share your location with any website, no matter what the site-level setting says.
So if a site claims it cannot find your location even after you allowed it in the browser, the first thing to check is whether the device is allowing the browser itself to use location services.
This article focuses on the second layer, the website-level permissions inside the browser, since that is where most people lose track of which sites were granted access over time.
It is worth taking a few minutes to look through this list occasionally, the same way you might check which apps have camera or microphone access.
Sites you visited once, maybe for a weather check or a store locator, can remain on the Allowed list indefinitely unless you remove them yourself.
💡 Key point: Browser permission and device permission are separate layers, and both need to allow location access for a website to actually receive it.
⚙️ How to Review and Block Location on Chrome
Chrome keeps location permissions in its Site settings menu, and the steps differ slightly depending on whether you are on a computer or an Android phone.
On a computer, start by opening Chrome and clicking the three-dot menu in the top right corner.
- Select ⋮ > Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Location.
- Review the site lists under this page, which show which sites are currently allowed to see your location.
- Change a site’s permission to Block, or remove it from the list entirely.
- To stop new sites from asking at all, choose Don’t allow sites to see your location under the default setting.
On Android, the menu is reached through the same three-dot icon, but the path is slightly shorter.
- Open Chrome and tap ⋮ > Settings > Site settings > Location.
- Review both the Allowed and Not allowed lists, and tap any site to change its permission.
- To block location access by default for new sites, choose the option that denies location access.
There is also a quicker way to change permission for the exact site you are currently viewing on Android.
Tap the small site-information icon just to the left of the address bar, then go to Permissions > Location.
If you want to clear out all of a site’s previous choices and start fresh, tapping Reset permissions removes everything tied to that site, not just location.
🍎 How to Manage Location in Safari on Mac
Safari handles website permissions through a dedicated Websites tab in its settings, separate from the general privacy controls.
- Open Safari and choose Safari > Settings > Websites > Location.
- Review the listed sites, and set any site you want to restrict to Deny.
- To block sites that are not already listed, set When visiting other websites to Deny.
This layout makes it easy to see every site that has ever asked for location in one glance, rather than digging through a longer general settings page.
Since Safari on Mac groups all website permission types, like camera, microphone, and location, into this same Websites tab, it is worth scrolling through the full list occasionally.
Changing the default to Deny does not remove sites already listed above it, so both steps are usually needed together for a thorough cleanup.
Safari on iPhone has a general location setting in the device’s Settings app (Apps → Safari → Location), and you can also change a single site from the page menu in Safari under Website Settings, which is one of the clearer differences between desktop and mobile browsing covered further below.
🦊 How to Manage Location in Firefox
Firefox stores location permissions inside its Privacy & Security settings, grouped with other site permissions like notifications and camera access.
- Open Settings and search for location, or go to Privacy & Security and scroll down to Permissions.
- Next to Location, select Settings to see a full list of allowed and blocked sites.
- Change a specific site’s permission, or remove it from the list.
- To stop new location requests from appearing at all, check Block new requests asking to access your location, then save the change.
Using the search bar at the top of the settings page is often the fastest way to find this menu, especially since Firefox occasionally reorganizes its settings categories between versions.
Typing location directly into that search bar will usually jump straight to the right section without needing to navigate through several submenus.
One detail worth remembering is that blocking new requests only affects sites that have not yet asked.
Any site that already has permission will keep it until you manually find it in the list and remove or block it.
⚠️ Watch out: Turning on a setting that blocks new location requests does not automatically revoke permissions already granted to sites you visited in the past.
🪟 How to Manage Location in Microsoft Edge
Edge organizes location under its broader Site permissions menu, which also covers things like camera, microphone, and notifications.
- Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Site permissions > All permissions > Location.
- Review the list of sites and their current permission status.
- To block a specific site, visit that site directly, open the site-information or permissions icon next to the address bar, and set Location to Block.
- To stop every site from being able to ask, turn off Ask before accessing (recommended).
Edge’s structure of grouping all permission types under one All permissions screen can make it a little easier to manage several privacy settings at once, rather than opening separate pages for each one.
This also means it is simple to compare, for example, which sites have camera access versus which ones have location access, all from the same general area.
Turning off Ask before accessing is a strong setting, since it prevents any new site from requesting location at all, rather than just blocking the request quietly.
Some people prefer leaving this on so they can decide case by case, while others find it easier to block everything by default and only grant access to a small number of trusted sites.
📱 iPhone vs. Android: What Is Different
Since menu names and navigation paths vary by device and browser version, it helps to see a quick side-by-side comparison of where these settings generally live.
| Browser & Device | Where Location Settings Live |
|---|---|
| Chrome on Computer | Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Location |
| Chrome on Android | Settings > Site settings > Location, or the site-info icon by the address bar |
| Safari on Mac | Safari > Settings > Websites > Location |
| Safari on iPhone | Managed through the device’s Settings app rather than inside Safari |
| Firefox | Settings > Privacy & Security > Permissions > Location |
| Edge | Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Site permissions > Location |
On Android, Chrome keeps its location controls inside the app itself, which makes it fairly consistent with the desktop version in terms of layout and wording.
On iPhone, Safari’s website location permissions are generally controlled through the iPhone’s own Settings app rather than a menu inside Safari, since Safari relies on the device’s system-level location controls for website-specific choices.
This is one of the clearer differences between the two platforms, and it can be confusing if you are used to looking for a setting directly inside the browser app.
If you cannot find a website permission menu directly inside Safari on iPhone, checking the device’s Settings app under its privacy section is the next place to look.
💡 Key point: Safari on iPhone sets the general rule in the Settings app, and each site can also be changed from the page menu under Website Settings.
🛠️ If a Site Still Seems to Know Your Location
Occasionally, a website appears to still have a rough idea of your location even after you have blocked it in your browser.
This does not necessarily mean the block failed. Many sites can estimate a general area, such as a city or region, based on your internet connection rather than an actual location permission.
This kind of estimate is usually far less precise than GPS-based location and typically cannot pinpoint an exact address or neighborhood the way a granted browser permission can.
If a site is still asking to use your location even though you intended to block it everywhere, it is worth double-checking a few things in order.
- Confirm the specific site is listed under Blocked or Not allowed, not just absent from the Allowed list.
- Check that the device’s own location setting allows the browser app to use location services at all.
- Clear the site’s permissions completely using a reset option, if your browser offers one, and start fresh.
- Restart the browser after making changes, since some permission updates do not apply until the app is reopened.
If none of these steps resolve the issue and the behavior seems unusual, especially if it involves a site requesting payment details or personal information alongside location, it is a good idea to check that site’s own privacy or help page, or contact its support team directly for details specific to that service.
⚠️ Things to Watch Out For
Blocking location access across the board is a reasonable choice for privacy, but it does come with a few trade-offs worth knowing in advance.
Some websites rely on location to provide core features, like showing nearby store hours, estimating delivery times, or auto-filling a shipping address.
Once you deny location access to those sites, those specific features may stop working or ask you to type in your location manually instead.
This is normal behavior and does not indicate anything is broken. It simply means the site no longer has the information it was using before.
Another common point of confusion is assuming that blocking new location requests also removes permissions already granted in the past.
As covered in the Firefox and Chrome sections above, this is rarely the case. Reviewing the existing allowed-sites list is just as important as changing the default setting going forward.
It is also worth remembering that browser-level blocking only affects that specific browser. If you use more than one browser on the same device, such as both Chrome and Safari, each one keeps its own separate list of site permissions, so changes made in one do not carry over to the other.
🙋 Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Does blocking location in my browser also block it in apps on my phone?
No. Browser website permissions and app location permissions are managed separately on most devices, so blocking a website’s access in Chrome or Safari does not change a separate app’s location setting.
Q. Will a site know I blocked its location request?
Browsers do not typically notify a site about the specific reason access was denied; the site simply does not receive location data and may fall back to asking you to enter an address manually.
Q. Can I allow a site to use my location just one time instead of permanently?
Some browsers offer an option to allow access for a single visit rather than permanently, often shown as a separate choice alongside Allow and Block when the permission prompt first appears.
Q. Why does a map or weather site still seem accurate after I blocked location?
It may be estimating a general area from your internet connection rather than using a precise browser location permission, which can still be reasonably accurate at a city level without any special access.
Q. Do I need to repeat these steps on every browser I use?
Yes. Each browser keeps its own list of site permissions, so changes made in Chrome do not apply to Safari, Firefox, or Edge, even on the same device.
Q. Is there a faster way to block location for the site I am currently on?
Most browsers let you click or tap the site-information icon next to the address bar while visiting that site, which opens a shortcut to its permissions without needing to open the full settings menu.
Q. Does turning off location in the browser affect browsing speed or other features?
No. Turning off location access only affects features that rely on knowing your location; it does not affect general browsing speed or unrelated site functions.
📌 Quick Summary
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Chrome (Computer) | Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Location |
| Chrome (Android) | Settings > Site settings > Location, or the address bar icon |
| Safari (Mac) | Safari > Settings > Websites > Location |
| Safari (iPhone) | Managed through the device Settings app |
| Firefox | Settings > Privacy & Security > Permissions > Location |
| Edge | Settings > Site permissions > Location |
| Key Caution | Blocking new requests does not remove already-granted permissions |
A simple first step is opening whichever browser is used most often and checking the current list of sites with location access.
From there, removing a few unfamiliar or unused entries takes only a minute and gives a clearer picture of exactly which sites still have that permission.
This article is based on public information available at the time of writing. Menus and steps may change with app or device updates.