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This page discusses the following:
How to request background location access.
How to handle the request based on your app's target SDK version.
How user preferences for approximate location affect how your app gets
background location.
Figure 7. Settings page includes an option called
Allow all the time, which grants background location
access.
Permission dialog contents depend on target SDK version
When a feature in your app requests background location on a device that runs
Android 10 (API level 29), the system permissions dialog includes an option
named Allow all the time. If the user selects this option, the feature in
your app gains background location access.
On Android 11 (API level 30) and higher, however, the system dialog doesn't
include the Allow all the time option. Instead, users must enable background
location on a settings page, as shown in figure 7.
You can help users navigate to this settings page by following best practices
when requesting the background location permission. The process for granting the
permission depends on your app's target SDK version.
App targets Android 11 or higher
If your app hasn't been granted the ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission, and
shouldShowRequestPermissionRationale() returns true, show an
educational UI to users that includes the following:
A clear explanation of why your app's feature needs access to background
location.
The user-visible label of the settings option that grants background
location (for example, Allow all the time in figure 7). You can call
getBackgroundPermissionOptionLabel() to get this label. The return
value of this method is localized to the user's device language preference.
An option for users to decline the permission. If users decline background
location access, they should be able to continue using your app.
Figure 8. Notification reminding the user that they've granted
background location access to an app.
App targets Android 10 or lower
When a feature in your app requests background location access, users see a
system dialog. This dialog includes an option to navigate to your app's location
permission options on a settings page.
As long as your app already follows best practices for requesting location
permissions, you don't need to make any changes to support this behavior.
User can affect background location accuracy
If the user requests approximate location, the user's choices in the
location permissions dialog also apply to background location. In other words,
if the user grants your app the ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION permission but
grants only approximate location access in the foreground, your app has only
approximate location access in the background as well.
Additional resources
For more information about location permissions in Android, view the following
materials:
Sample app
to demonstrate the use of location permissions.
Content and code samples on this page are subject to the licenses described in the Content License. Java and OpenJDK are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-08-20 UTC.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-20 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Request background location\n\nThis page discusses the following:\n\n- How to request background location access.\n- How to handle the request based on your app's target SDK version.\n- How user preferences for approximate location affect how your app gets background location.\n\n**Note:** If a feature in your app accesses location from the background, verify that access is necessary. Consider getting the information that the feature needs in other ways. To learn more about background location access, see the [Access location in the background](/training/location/background) page. \n**Figure 7.** Settings page includes an option called **Allow all the time**, which grants background location access.\n\nPermission dialog contents depend on target SDK version\n-------------------------------------------------------\n\nWhen a feature in your app requests background location on a device that runs\nAndroid 10 (API level 29), the system permissions dialog includes an option\nnamed **Allow all the time**. If the user selects this option, the feature in\nyour app gains background location access.\n\nOn Android 11 (API level 30) and higher, however, the system dialog doesn't\ninclude the **Allow all the time** option. Instead, users must enable background\nlocation on a settings page, as shown in figure 7.\n\nYou can help users navigate to this settings page by following best practices\nwhen requesting the background location permission. The process for granting the\npermission depends on your app's target SDK version.\n\n### App targets Android 11 or higher\n\nIf your app hasn't been granted the `ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION` permission, and\n[`shouldShowRequestPermissionRationale()`](/reference/androidx/core/app/ActivityCompat#shouldShowRequestPermissionRationale(android.app.Activity,%20java.lang.String)) returns `true`, show an\neducational UI to users that includes the following:\n\n- A clear explanation of why your app's feature needs access to background location.\n- The user-visible label of the settings option that grants background location (for example, **Allow all the time** in figure 7). You can call [`getBackgroundPermissionOptionLabel()`](/reference/android/content/pm/PackageManager#getBackgroundPermissionOptionLabel()) to get this label. The return value of this method is localized to the user's device language preference.\n- An option for users to decline the permission. If users decline background location access, they should be able to continue using your app.\n\n**Figure 8.**Notification reminding the user that they've granted background location access to an app.\n\n### App targets Android 10 or lower\n\nWhen a feature in your app requests background location access, users see a\nsystem dialog. This dialog includes an option to navigate to your app's location\npermission options on a settings page.\n\nAs long as your app already follows best practices for requesting location\npermissions, you don't need to make any changes to support this behavior.\n\nUser can affect background location accuracy\n--------------------------------------------\n\nIf the [user requests approximate location](/develop/sensors-and-location/location/permissions/runtime#approximate-request), the user's choices in the\nlocation permissions dialog also apply to background location. In other words,\nif the user grants your app the `ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION` permission but\ngrants only approximate location access in the foreground, your app has only\napproximate location access in the background as well.\n\nAdditional resources\n--------------------\n\nFor more information about location permissions in Android, view the following\nmaterials:\n\n### Codelabs\n\n- [Privacy best practices](/codelabs/android-privacy-codelab)\n\n### Videos\n\n- [How to find possible background location usage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTVeFJZQ28c)\n\n### Samples\n\n- [Sample app](https://github.com/android/platform-samples/tree/main/samples/location/src/main/java/com/example/platform/location/permission) to demonstrate the use of location permissions."]]
