Precise location

[ben55124]

I was looking forward to switching some apps to android 12 approximate location, but it seems even weather apps think they need to know my precise location. Android 12 should have made this setting invisible to apps. Apps don't need to know if I think approximate is sufficient for their function.

 

[cbreze]

My weather apps give me 4 options to chose from regarding location permissions. I generally seldom use precise for any app and my Pixel 4A gives me a toggle to turn that option off. Precise location for weather really isn't necessary.
You could also just use the name of your town/city.

 

[cbreze]

Does your permissions look like this?

 

[ben55124]

Cbreze, yes that is the screen. Apps I have used including AccuWeather and wunderground only recognize GPS when I switch precise location on. Haven't tried weather Channel.

So I assume apps can tell if they are getting approximate location and don't like it. Maybe approximate requires recompile for Android 12. Just wish it were a setting that was transparent to apps.

 

[cbreze]

I don't know about the other apps but all my weather apps I don't have any trouble with them updating appropriately at certain intervals. If I'm using a widget on a weather app I do need to have the allow all the time box checked otherwise it won't update properly until I open it.
I'm not sure how they get the precise location when it is toggled on. Maybe someone with more knowledge will chime in and we can both learn from that

 

[anon(40376)]

I don't know about the other apps but all my weather apps I don't have any trouble with them updating appropriately at certain intervals. If I'm using a widget on a weather app I do need to have the allow all the time box checked otherwise it won't update properly until I open it.
I'm not sure how they get the precise location when it is toggled on. Maybe someone with more knowledge will chime in and we can both learn from that

Precise location is supplied via GPS satellites and it is quite precise. Usually three can give a decent triangulation for precise location but your phone should be able to pull in a lot more sats; even in a house. I am currently in my house and my phone is working on 16 satellites.
If you turn off location the apps will work off of cell tower triangulation. Fairly accurate in many locations, in some areas more than three cell towers might be pinged, in some locations, like where I live it will most likely be only two (a month ago zero).
As for the widget, I have location turned off, my weather app widget only updates about every hour, but if I press it and go to the app, it updates immediately (if needed). But if I don't touch the app or the widget it does update throughout the day. Right now it is showing 22 Deg F; most likely I won't touch the widget or the app since I have multiple weather displays throughout the house, but in six or eight hours I'm sure the widget will have updated to show something in the 30s (if lucky the 40s or 50s).