Whenever a website asks for your location on Chrome for Android, it’s a binary call: hand over your exact GPS coordinates, or don’t share anything. He is changing. Google Approximate location sharing has just been officially launchedChrome gives Android location sharing a third option that sits nicely between full access and none.
When a site now asks for your location, you’ll see two options in the permission prompt: Exact (your exact coordinates) and Approximate (your general neighborhood). Choose Estimated and the site will find a rough area, no pins on your road.
What does it really change for websites
This distinction matters more than it seems. Many websites ask for location even though they don’t actually need to know where you are. Checking the local weather, browsing nearby news, or checking regional store hours – none of this requires your GPS coordinates. And now with Chrome’s screen sharing privacy upgrade, Google is quietly tightening up what websites can get from your phone.
For cases where accuracy really matters, like ordering delivery or finding the nearest ATM, you can still hand over your exact location. Your call every time a site asks.
Google is also creating new APIs so developers can specify exactly what type of space their site needs. The purpose of this is to prevent sites from requesting maximum access by default. The feature is live now on Chrome for Android, and according to Google, desktop Chrome will follow in the coming months.
Android has offered precise versus approximate location at the app level since Android 12. However, websites are a separate layer, and Chrome hasn’t yet extended the same detailed Chrome Android location sharing controls to individual sites. better late than never.
