There are various icons that can be displayed in the status bar at the top of the iPhone screen.

You may see different colors depending on the time, or different indicators of cellular strength, but you may also see a small arrow from time to time.

Our guide below will show you how to adjust some of the location options on your iPhone, as well as a setting that will allow you to prevent this arrow from appearing.

You can get rid of the hollow arrow on iPhone by going to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services > then turning off the status bar icon.

How to remove the arrow next to the time on iPhone

  1. I open Settings.
  2. Select Privacy and Security.
  3. Select Location Services.
  4. Click on System Services.
  5. Disable status bar icon.

Our guide continues below with more information on this topic, including pictures of these steps.

iPhone apps often use your location to get important features of that app.

The Maps app may use your location to make sure your directions are correct, or the restaurant app may use your location to show you the nearest restaurant.

  • You can view which apps have access to your location by opening the Settings app, selecting Privacy & Security, selecting Location Services, then scrolling down and checking the buttons next to the apps.
  • If you see an app in this list and you don’t want that app to have location access, you can simply select the app and choose the Never option under Allow location access.

In addition to removing location access for certain apps, you can also change the setting so that the arrow doesn’t appear at the top of the screen when an app is using your location.

Our guide below will show you where to find and adjust this setting.

Related: You can read this iPhone guide if you want to know more about resetting your iPhone.

How to stop showing iPhone location arrow in status bar

The steps in this article were done on an iPhone 13 running iOS 16.

Step 1: Find and open the Settings app on your iPhone’s home screen.

Click Settings

Step 2: Scroll down and select “Privacy and Security” from the list.

Select Privacy and Security

Step 3: Tap on Location Services at the top of the screen.

Select Location Services

Step 4: Scroll down to the bottom of the list and select the System Services option.

Select System Services

Step 5: Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap the button to the right of the status bar icon to turn it off.

How to remove the blank arrow on iPhone 13

Now that you know how to get rid of the hollow arrow on the iPhone 13, you no longer have to worry about that icon appearing in the status bar at the top of your screen when something on your phone is using your location.

More information about location settings on iPhone

Disabling the status bar icon will not prevent iPhone apps from using your location. You can simply stop seeing the icon at the top of the screen that lets you know when an app has accessed personalization information.

If you don’t want the iPhone app to use your location, follow these steps:

  1. Launch the Settings app.
  2. Select the Privacy and Security menu.
  3. Click Location Services at the top of the screen.
  4. Scroll down and select the app that you want to change.
  5. Click Never in the list of site options.

While this works when there are one or two apps that you want to change, you can simply prevent all iPhone apps from using your location. If so, you can use the following method:

  1. Select “Settings”.
  2. Click on the “Privacy and Security” option.
  3. Click the Location Services button.
  4. Click the button next to Location Services to turn it off.

When you learned how to get rid of the hollow arrow on iPhone 13 in the above section, it directed you to the System Services section of the Location Services menu. In addition to the option to remove the hollow arrow, there are some other interesting options on this list.

For example, there is a Set Time Zone option which you can turn on or off depending on whether you want your iPhone to update the time zone while traveling.

There is also a Places of Interest button where you can find information about certain geographic locations that your iPhone considers important. There is also a Clear History option here if you want to delete this data.