Think Apple Maps isn’t tracking you? Check your “Visited Places” settings first

Apple’s new Visited Places feature in iOS 26 sounds useful, but it’s raising questions about privacy. The good news: it’s not automatic. You have to turn it on yourself. The bad news: once you do, Apple Maps starts recording every place you visit like cafés, offices, parks, to improve route predictions and navigation accuracy.

The feature is opt-in only and not available in India yet, as mentioned in Apple’s official iOS 26 footnotes. So unless you’ve manually enabled it in another region, your iPhone isn’t storing any “Visited Places” data.

What Visited Places actually does

Once you enable it, Maps gains access to information about recently visited locations. The app uses that data to refine directions, show relevant recommendations, and learn your movement patterns. According to Apple’s Maps & Privacy page, everything you record through this feature is end-to-end encrypted, meaning even Apple can’t read it.

Visited Places only starts tracking after you enable it. Nothing from your old location history is added retroactively. You can also decide how long Maps should retain this data, days, weeks, or indefinitely, and change that anytime under Library → Visits → Keep Visits.

How to check your tracked history

You can actually see what’s been recorded. Open Apple Maps → Library → Visits and you’ll find a full list of your saved locations, along with timestamps. You can delete specific visits or clear everything at once. You can even decide how long Apple Maps should retain this information before wiping it automatically.

How to turn it off completely

If this feels invasive, you can shut it down in seconds:

1. Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Maps → Location Services
2. Tap Allow More Location Access → Visited Places
3. Toggle it off
4. Then open Apple Maps → Library → Visits and delete your history

Don’t forget predicted destinations

There’s another sneaky setting, Predicted Destinations, which guesses where you’re heading next and loads routes automatically. Apple deletes this data within 24 hours, but it still tracks short-term movement.

Your iPhone doesn’t just know where you’re going, it remembers where you’ve been. A quick settings change can stop that memory cold.