Definition

Core Location vs Fused Location Provider vs the browser Geolocation API

Last reviewed 20 October 2026

All three return an estimated position with an accuracy radius, built from GPS, Wi-Fi, cell and other signals, and none of them proves the position to anyone else: the app or browser can be given a different location, and the result is not signed.

	Core Location (iOS)	Fused Location Provider (Android)	Geolocation API (browser)
What it is	Apple’s framework for location, altitude and orientation	A Google Play services API that combines location signals	A W3C standard browsers implement
Signals	Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, magnetometer, barometer, cellular	GPS, Wi-Fi and others	Whatever the browser and OS provide
Returns	Coordinates, accuracy, and since iOS 15 a simulated-location flag	Coordinates, accuracy, and a mock flag	Coordinates and an accuracy radius
Signed?	No	No	No

Sources: Apple Core Location, Google Fused Location Provider, W3C Geolocation.

What each says about itself

Core Location “gathers data using all available components on the device, including the Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, magnetometer, barometer, and cellular hardware.”
Fused Location Provider “intelligently combines different signals to provide the location information that your app needs.”
The W3C Geolocation API states plainly that “no guarantee is given that the API returns the device’s actual location.” Its accuracy value is a radius at “the 95% confidence level in meters.”

The position these APIs return is for your app’s own use. It is not signed, so no one else can check it.

When that is enough, and when it is not

For maps, delivery tracking and local search, these APIs are the right tool. When the location decides something with legal or financial weight, you need two more things: a way to detect a manipulated reading, and a record someone else can verify. See mock location detection and device-attested location.