What is locationd on a Mac, and which apps are using your location?
locationd provides location to apps and macOS. It used 0.1% CPU and 10 MB on our Mac. How to see which apps asked for location, and turn it off for them.
What is locationd?
locationd gives apps and macOS your location, worked out mostly from nearby Wi-Fi networks, since most Macs have no GPS. It lives at /usr/libexec/locationd and runs as its own user, _locationd.
On our Mac it used 0.1% CPU and 10 MB of memory.
Which apps are using my location?
Open System Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services. Every app with access is listed, and an arrow marks those that used it recently. System Services, at the bottom, lists what macOS itself uses it for, such as time zone and Find My.
Why is locationd using CPU?
An app is asking for location often, such as a weather widget refreshing, a map left open, or Find My. Turning off access for that app stops the requests. It is rarely heavy; high use usually means one app polling constantly.
Significant Locations, the places your Mac learns you visit, are handled by a related process; see routined.
See it live
Free Mac's System tab ranks every process by processor use and energy impact, once a second, and marks the ones macOS will not let you quit as protected. See also searchpartyd for Find My.
Related: cfprefsd and opendirectoryd high CPU.
Common questions
What is locationd on a Mac?
The macOS service that provides your location to apps and the system, mostly from nearby Wi-Fi networks.
How do I see which apps use my location on a Mac?
System Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services. Recently used apps are marked with an arrow.
Why is locationd running?
Something asked for location: an app, a widget, or a macOS service such as time zone or Find My.