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How to select a location when looking for businesses
Note: The WhatsApp Business directory is currently only available on Android in Brazil. Over time, we’ll expand the availability of this feature to regions outside of Brazil.
When searching the WhatsApp Business Directory in WhatsApp Messenger, you can share your current location.
- Share your current location. The location data remains stored on your phone, and will only refresh if you share your location again. WhatsApp cannot see your location, nor can businesses in the directory. Business results are ranked by distance and other signals, and you can erase your stored location from your phone at any time. Learn more about sharing your device's location in this article.
Change your location
WhatsApp will default to the location selected when you last searched for businesses. You can always clear that location and set a new one.
- Open WhatsApp and tap > Businesses.
- Tap Set location > Use current location.
WhatsApp will now use your phone number and the businesses you've interacted with to determine your general location.
Stop sharing your location
You are in control of whether you’d like to share your location and you can stop sharing your location at any time.
To stop sharing your location on WhatsApp
- Open Settings on your mobile device.
- Tap Location > App permissions > WhatsApp.
- Select Don’t allow.
About location privacy
Before WhatsApp uses your location data to help you find nearby businesses, your location is converted into an imprecise location so WhatsApp does not know exactly where you are. The broad search results are then sent back to your phone and ranked by distance to the exact location, as well as other signals. This way, WhatsApp servers never see your specific whereabouts.
Note:
- WhatsApp uses Google as a third party service provider and therefore the location data will be shared with Google.
- When you start a chat with a business you found through the Discover businesses, the business will get a notification from WhatsApp telling them that you found them using Discover businesses. Your location stays private and is not seen by the business or WhatsApp.
