Apple Intelligence: Why Siri Needs Precise Location for Distance Queries

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If you’re wondering why your device keeps asking you to turn on precise location when you simply want to find out how far or where a place is from your town, you’re not alone. This can feel frustrating, especially when you don’t want to share your exact location for privacy reasons.

Here’s a simple way to solve the problem:

First, understand that your device uses your location to provide more accurate answers. But if you don’t want to enable precise location all the time, you can change the settings.

Go to your device’s privacy or location settings. Look for the app that’s asking for your location—like your voice assistant—and tap on it. You’ll see options to choose between ‘This device only’ or ‘Ask next time.’ If you want to limit what it can see, pick the option that grants only approximate location access or turn off location permissions for that app altogether.

Keep in mind that without location data, your device might not give you the detailed information you’re asking for, like distance or exact directions. But for general queries like “How far is this city from my town?” you can usually get a rough estimate by typing it out manually.

So, the fix is to adjust your location permissions to suit your privacy preferences without compromising the basic functionality you need. This way, your device won’t keep prompting you to turn on precise location, and you can still get the information you’re after — minus the intrusiveness.