How to show the location arrow in the iPhone status bar

In short

Open Settings, tap Privacy & Security, then Location Services, then System Services, scroll to the bottom and switch on Status Bar Icon. The location arrow then appears in the status bar when system services request your location.

7 of 7 steps show a real screenshot from our iPhone 17e.

Steps

1. 1

   Open Settings and tap Privacy & Security

   Scroll down in Settings. On our iPhone 17e it is below Face ID & Passcode and Emergency SOS, and above Game Center.

   Done
   
2. 2

   Tap Location Services

   It is the first row under the Privacy & Security heading, above Tracking (Data Linking Across Companies from iOS 27.2). On our iPhone 17e it read 2 while using below the name.

   Done
   
3. 3

   Scroll down and tap System Services

   It is the last row of the list of apps. On our iPhone 17e it was below Wallet, and a purple arrow next to it showed that a system service had recently used the location.

   Done
   
4. 4

   Scroll to the bottom and switch on Status Bar Icon

   It sits on its own at the very bottom, below Product Improvement and the key to the purple and grey arrows. On our iPhone 17e it was off; Improve Location Accuracy, iPhone Analytics and Routing & Traffic were on and Improve Maps was off.

   The note under it reads: Show the Location Services icon in the status bar when the services above request your location.

   Done
   
5. 5

   Check the status bar

   When a system service requests your location, the arrow appears next to the time. In our screenshot, taken just after switching it on, no service was asking for the location, so no arrow showed yet: it appears only while one does.

   Done
   
6. 6

   If a switch will not move: check Screen Time

   Open Settings, Screen Time, Content & Privacy Restrictions and scroll to the bottom. On our iPhone 17e, Privacy Restrictions had a single row, Allow Changes to Settings. Tap it.

   Done
   
7. 7

   Check the Location Services row

   On our iPhone 17e, Location Services was set to Allow, between Driving Focus and Microphone.

   A Don't Allow here would explain switches that will not move.

   Done
   

If you do not see this option

• Status Bar Icon is not with the other switches It is not in the main list of services. On our iPhone 17e it was the last row on the System Services page, below Product Improvement. Apple gives the path as Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services, System Services. Sources: Control the location information you share on iPhone, Control the location information you share on iPhone (iOS 26), Block apps, app downloads, websites, and purchases on iPhone (iOS 26), Block features or content with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 27)
• System Services is not near the top It comes after all the apps. On our iPhone 17e it was the last row, below Wallet.
• On iOS 26 Apple gives the same path: Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services, System Services. Sources: Control the location information you share on iPhone, Control the location information you share on iPhone (iOS 26), Block apps, app downloads, websites, and purchases on iPhone (iOS 26), Block features or content with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 27)

If this does not work

• The arrow does not appear Don't worry: the switch shows the arrow when a system service requests your location, as the note under it says. Apps that use your location show the arrow anyway.
• The switches will not move It is not you: Screen Time may be locking Location Services, which is easy to forget if it was set up a while ago. Step 6 shows where to check.

Good to know

If you spot a service in that list you would rather keep away from your location, there is no need to switch everything off, because each system service has its own switch on the same page: how to turn off location for system services on an iPhone.

Watch these steps

Watch on YouTubeThe same steps, recorded on our iPhone 17e · opens YouTube

About this guide

Device

iPhone

Shown on

iOS 27.0.1 (iPhone 17e)

App

Settings

Path

Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › System Services

Real screenshots

7 of 7 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

4 official, linked below

What changed: the screenshots are now our own iPhone 17e on iOS 27.0.1, dark mode, and the wording is checked against those screens and Apple's iOS 27 guide.

Sources

• Apple iPhone User Guide: Control the location information you share on iPhone
• Apple iPhone User Guide: Control the location information you share on iPhone (iOS 26)
• Apple iPhone User Guide: Block apps, app downloads, websites, and purchases on iPhone (iOS 26)
• Apple iPhone User Guide: Block features or content with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 27)

Links checked October 2026. Menus and features can change with updates.

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