So, for your friends to see your live position all the time, Zenly needs permission to access your location even when closed.
Why is that?
Simply put, Zenly retrieves your location when your friend watches you, which can happen when you’re not using the app. This is how Zenly displays your real-time location (and also, your speed, how long you’ve stayed somewhere, etc.).
Changes to iOS13
iOS has two main location data permissions:
- Allow While Using App: Zenly only has access to location data when open. Therefore, your location will only update when the app is opened. 😭
- Always: Zenly can always access location data, even when running in the background. This ensures your friends will be able to see your location at all times. 🙌
Before iOS13, an app could immediately ask permission to always access an iPhone’s location, even when running in the background. This is no longer possible on iOS13. 👿
Now Zenly MUST first ask to access an iPhone’s location while using the app. Following this, Zenly can then request to change this permission from "Allow While Using App" to "Always."
How to configure iOS13 Location Services for Zenly?
First, we know from first-hand that changing settings is annoying. We wouldn’t ask unless we had no choice. 😡
- Sign-up/log-in
Zenly will, at first, ask you to grant "Allow While Using App" access. Unfortunately, Zenly won't work with this, so after choosing "Allow While Using App," Zenly will ask you to open your iPhone settings and change the permission to "Always."
- In normal use
Your iPhone may randomly prompt you to confirm that you want to continue allowing Zenly to use your location in the background.
Remember to select "Always" for Zenly to work; otherwise, your friends will not be able to get your real-time location.
If you mistakenly chose "Allow While Using App" and want to change:
- Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
- Make sure that Location Services is on.
- Scroll down and tap Zenly.
- Ensure the option “Always” is selected, allowing Zenly to access location data when running in the background.
If, after enabling "Always," you're still having location issues, check out our location troubleshooting articles in our Community Center 📖.
*Note, if you selected "Allow While Using App" when creating an account or re-login, and never manually changed the permission to "Always," the iOS13 prompt will misleadingly tell you that Zenly has been using your location in the background. 🤥 This is false as Zenly CANNOT access your location in the background unless you have granted the permission "Always" in your iPhone's Location Services. You’ve been warned!