Programming Tutorials

Get Location of a phone in iOS

By: Karthik Gupta in iPhone Tutorials on 2023-03-20  

To get the location of a mobile phone in iOS, you can use the Core Location framework, which provides access to the device's location services. Here are the general steps to get the location of a mobile phone in iOS:

Add the following permission in the Info.plist file:

#vbnet
<key>NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription</key>
<string>Your message to user requesting location access</string>

This permission allows the app to access the device's location when the app is in use.

In your app code, create an instance of the CLLocationManager class:

#swift
import CoreLocation

let locationManager = CLLocationManager()

Define a CLLocationManagerDelegate to receive location updates:

#swift
class MyLocationDelegate: NSObject, CLLocationManagerDelegate {
    func locationManager(_ manager: CLLocationManager, didUpdateLocations locations: [CLLocation]) {
        // Handle location updates
    }

    func locationManager(_ manager: CLLocationManager, didFailWithError error: Error) {
        // Handle location errors
    }
}

let locationDelegate = MyLocationDelegate()
locationManager.delegate = locationDelegate

Request location updates:

#scss
locationManager.requestWhenInUseAuthorization()
locationManager.startUpdatingLocation()

This code requests location updates and starts updating the location using the location manager.

Retrieve the last known location:

#javascript
if let lastLocation = locationManager.location {
    // Use the last known location
}

This code retrieves the last known location from the location manager. If the last known location is not available, it returns nil.

Note that getting the location of a mobile phone in iOS also requires the user's consent, and you should handle the user's privacy appropriately in your app. Additionally, you may need to handle location updates in the background or when the app is suspended, depending on your app's requirements.