Chrome for Android is testing a new setting to provide users with more granular control over location data shared with websites according to Android Authority.
Google is implementing a new approximate location option for Chrome‘s Android application. This feature offers users more detailed control over location permissions for different websites, distinct from Android’s system-level location controls for applications. The option permits Chrome to maintain precise location permission at the application level while enabling users to grant only approximate location access to individual websites.
The new toggle for sharing approximate location was observed in Chrome for Android version 142.0.7444.171. The feature appeared automatically for contributor Zachary Kew-Denniss, but other team members could not access it, suggesting Google is A/B-testing the updated location-permission dialog.
Currently, users can grant Chrome for Android precise location access via the application’s settings. This involves touching and holding the app icon, then navigating to “App info,” “Permissions,” and “Location,” before toggling the “Use precise location” option. Disabling precise location entirely causes Chrome for Android to automatically use approximate location. While this enhances privacy, it can impair functionality for services requiring exact coordinates, such as navigation applications or precise positioning websites.
This new option addresses the issue by allowing Chrome to retain precise location permission at the app level while only granting approximate location to individual sites. This provides finer controls, ensuring that websites requiring only a general area will not receive GPS-level accuracy. Websites genuinely needing precision can still request it.
Android has offered two levels of location accuracy for several years: approximate, which is within a three-square-kilometer radius, and precise, which provides exact coordinates. Many applications already present both options through Android’s standard permission sheet. However, Chrome for Android has not yet extended this logic to individual websites.
The feature can be manually activated via chrome://flags, Google’s platform for experimental Chrome features. Once enabled, selecting “Approximate location” limits what websites can view to a general area rather than an exact position. Google has not publicly announced this change or indicated when these new controls will roll out universally. The current testing phase suggests Chrome for Android users may soon gain enhanced control over location data sharing with websites.
