Where to find your location history on iPhone
Your iPhone's location history is in Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services > Significant Locations & Routes (Significant Locations on older iOS). Apple Maps also keeps Visited Places (Maps > Places > Visited Places), and Google Maps keeps a Timeline if you turned it on. Find My shows where people are now, not where they've been. For a shared 30-day history with people who agreed to it, the simplest option is Warden (top pick).
Competitor facts as of 7 November 2026, per each vendor's own pages (linked).
"Where was I yesterday?" has three possible answers on an iPhone, kept in three different places, each with its own privacy rules. This guide shows where each one lives, how to view it, how long it's kept, how to turn it off and how to clear it. Labels follow Apple's iPhone User Guide for iOS 27 and Apple's Location Services privacy notice (dated 11 February 2026), checked 7 November 2026.
The three location histories on an iPhone
| History | What it records | Who can read it | Kept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Significant Locations & Routes (Settings) | Places you've recently been, how often and when, and routes | Only you; "end-to-end encryption and cannot be read by Apple" | Until you clear it or turn it off |
| Visited Places (Apple Maps) | Places like restaurants and parks you visited | Only you, across your synced devices | Your choice: Keep Visits or Forever |
| Google Maps Timeline | Your routes and visits, if Timeline is on | Only you (on your device, optional encrypted backup) | Auto-delete options or keep |
Find My isn't on the list on purpose: it shows where your friends and devices are now. (One exception: a location sent via satellite stays viewable for up to 7 days, per Apple.)
1. Significant Locations & Routes
Apple's privacy notice: "Your iPhone and other devices where you sign in to iCloud with your Apple Account will keep track of places you have recently been, how often and when you visited them, and the routes you take to get there, in order to learn places and routes that are significant to you." It's used for things like Memories in Photos and predictive routes, and "synced between your devices using end-to-end encryption and cannot be read by Apple" (Apple).
How to see it
- Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
- Scroll to the bottom and tap System Services.
- Tap Significant Locations & Routes (on older iOS versions: Significant Locations) and unlock with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
How to clear it
On the same screen, tap Clear History. Apple: "This action clears all your significant locations everywhere you're signed in to the same Apple Account" (Apple). Apple notes it also resets personalized services such as predictive traffic routing.
How to turn it off
Switch off Significant Locations & Routes on that screen. Apple's privacy notice says you can turn off each location-based System Service there.
2. Visited Places in Apple Maps
Apple: "The Visited Places feature helps you keep track of places you've been ... Visited Places are end-to-end encrypted, can't be read by Apple, and appear on all your synced devices" (Apple). It's not available in every country or region, and you need to turn it on and visit at least one place first.
How to see where you've been
- Open Maps and tap Places.
- Tap Visited Places.
- Search by name, category, address or notes, filter by date, category or city, or tap All Visits.
From a place you can Add to Places, Share, Add a Note, correct it with Wrong Location, or Remove it.
How long to keep visits
Maps > Places > Visited Places, scroll to the bottom, tap Keep Visits and choose a period, or Forever.
Clear all visited places
Maps > Places > Visited Places, scroll to the bottom, tap Clear History.
3. Google Maps Timeline (on iPhone too)
If you use Google Maps and turned on Timeline, your history is there. Google says Timeline is off by default, the data comes "directly from your device", and a backup stores "an encrypted copy" on Google's servers (Google). You can set auto-delete after 3, 18 or 36 months. Full guide, including Android: Google Maps Timeline.
How to see where you were yesterday on iPhone
- Visited Places in Maps: filter by date. This is the most readable "where was I" view.
- Significant Locations & Routes: a list of frequent places, less useful for one specific day.
- Google Maps Timeline: day-by-day, if you turned it on before yesterday.
- Photos: photos with location show where they were taken.
If none of these was on, there's no hidden log to recover. iPhone doesn't record a day-by-day path unless one of these features is on.
Can I see my location history in Find My?
No. Find My shows current or last-known locations of people and devices. Satellite locations are an exception and stay visible for up to 7 days (Apple). Looking for someone else's past locations? See how to see someone's location history.
How to turn off location history on iPhone completely
- Turn off Significant Locations & Routes (Settings, above).
- In Maps, set Keep Visits to the shortest period, or turn Visited Places off in Maps' location settings (Apple).
- In Google Maps, turn off Timeline.
- For apps: Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services, set apps to Never or While Using.
To turn location off entirely: how to turn off location on iPhone.
Warden (top pick): a shared 30-day history, by agreement
The histories above are just for you. Sometimes a couple or a family wants something else: to look back at yesterday together, to retrace where a bag was left, or to see when a parent got home from a long walk. Warden keeps a shared location history for the last 30 days, only for people who switched sharing on themselves:
- History starts from the moment someone starts sharing, and only for the circles they share with.
- While someone is paused, nothing new is stored, and the circle sees "Paused".
- Anything older than 30 days is deleted automatically; events and alerts after 90 days.
- Everyone can see who can see them, and can delete their account and data in the app anytime.
Before anyone shares, Warden's consent screen tells them about the 30-day history. Works on iPhone and Android in one circle.
Which history should I use?
| Goal | Use |
|---|---|
| Find the restaurant from last week's trip | Apple Maps Visited Places |
| Better routes and Photos memories | Significant Locations & Routes |
| A full day-by-day log of your own movements | Google Maps Timeline |
| Look back at yesterday with family who agreed | Warden |
FAQ
How do I see my location history on iPhone?
Open Maps, tap Places, then Visited Places for places you've been. For Significant Locations, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services > Significant Locations & Routes and unlock it.
Where are Significant Locations on iPhone?
Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services > Significant Locations & Routes (Significant Locations on older iOS). Unlock with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
How do I delete my location history on iPhone?
Tap Clear History in Significant Locations & Routes, which Apple says clears it everywhere you're signed in. In Maps, tap Places > Visited Places, scroll down and tap Clear History.
Can I see where I was yesterday on my iPhone?
Yes, if Visited Places in Apple Maps or Google Maps Timeline was on: filter Visited Places by date, or open the day in Timeline. Otherwise iPhone doesn't keep a day-by-day path.
Does Find My have location history?
No. Find My shows current or last-known locations. Locations sent via satellite stay visible for up to 7 days.
Can Apple see my location history?
Apple says Significant Locations & Routes and Visited Places are end-to-end encrypted and can't be read by Apple.
How do I turn off location history on iPhone?
Turn off Significant Locations & Routes in System Services, set Keep Visits in Maps or clear it, and turn off Timeline in Google Maps if you use it.
How long does Warden keep location history?
30 days. Older history is deleted automatically, and nothing new is stored while someone is paused.
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