Location permissions

Pin Drop is a map. Knowing where you are makes most of it work better, and a few things only work at all.

When location sharing is on:

• Search ranks nearby places first, so the café you mean appears above one with the same name three counties away
• Distances to pins are accurate, measured from where you actually are
• You can drop a pin on your current position without searching for the address
• Routes start from you rather than from an arbitrary point on the map
• Visits can be recorded against the site you are standing on
• Photos can become pins, using the coordinates stored in the image

Without it, nothing is lost permanently. Pins, tags, routes and territories all still work. Pin Drop simply has no idea where you are, so it orders things from somewhere else.

Location is used to place and order things on your own map. Choosing While Using the App means Pin Drop can only read your position while the app is open in front of you. How location data is stored and who can see it is covered in privacy and security.

The first time you open Pin Drop, your phone asks whether the app can use your location. That prompt comes from iOS or Android rather than from us, and it normally appears only once.

Choose While Using the App on iOS, or While using the app on Android. This is the right option for almost everyone.

If you are also asked about accuracy, choose Precise. Approximate location can be several kilometres out, which is enough to put a pin in the wrong part of town and reorder every search result.

If you tapped Don’t Allow, or the prompt never appeared at all, nothing is broken. You can grant the permission at any time from your device settings, and the app will pick it up straight away.

iPhone and iPad

1. Open Settings
2. Go to Privacy & Security then Location Services
3. Make sure Location Services is switched on at the top of the screen
4. Scroll down the list and tap Pin Drop
5. Select While Using the App
6. Switch Precise Location on

There is a shortcut: open Settings, scroll down to Pin Drop and tap Location.

Android

1. Open Settings then Location and check it is switched on
2. Go back to Settings then Apps then Pin Drop
3. Tap Permissions then Location
4. Select Allow only while using the app
5. Switch Use precise location on

Menu names vary between manufacturers. If you cannot find the path above, press and hold the Pin Drop icon on your home screen, tap App info then Permissions.

Mac

1. Open System Settings
2. Go to Privacy & Security then Location Services
3. Switch Location Services on
4. Find your browser in the list, such as Safari, Chrome, Arc or Edge, and switch it on

macOS grants location per browser, so the web app cannot use your location until the browser itself is allowed.

Windows

1. Open Settings
2. Go to Privacy & security then Location
3. Switch Location services on
4. Switch Let apps access your location on, and check Let desktop apps access your location is on as well

The web app and browser extension

Browsers ask for location separately, site by site. To allow web.pindrop.it:

• Chrome, Edge and Arc: click the icon to the left of the address bar, then set Location to Allow
• Safari: go to Safari then Settings then Websites then Location, and set web.pindrop.it to Allow
• Firefox: click the padlock in the address bar, remove the blocked location permission, then reload

Reload the page once you have changed it. On a Mac you also need the operating system step above, otherwise the browser has nothing to share.

A few things commonly get in the way:

• You are on a work device. Managed phones and laptops often block location for every app through a security policy. Pin Drop cannot override this, so your IT team will need to allow it.
• Low Power Mode or Battery Saver is on. Both restrict how often your device updates its position, which can make location look stuck or absent.
• You are indoors, underground or in a dense city. Accuracy drops without a clear view of the sky. Wi-Fi being switched on usually helps, even if you are not connected to a network.
• Nothing changed after you granted it. Close Pin Drop fully and reopen it, so the app picks up the new permission.

A workaround while you sort it out

If location is blocked and you cannot change it, use Teleport to set your working location by hand. Open Pin Drop on the web at web.pindrop.it, select Teleport from the left-hand navigation, then search for your city and confirm. Search results, suggestions and pin distances reorder around that location immediately. Read more in the Teleport guide and in why are my search results centred on the wrong city.

Still stuck? Contact us and tell us which device and operating system you are on, and we will help you work through it.