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Location sharing in Shift AI

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Shift Browser uses your approximate location to provide relevant, context-aware answers for weather, local time, and nearby places. By using your IP address to estimate your city and region, Shift AI delivers helpful results without ever accessing your precise GPS data. You're always in control of when and how this info's shared.

**AI has been released to a Beta group and may not yet be available to all Shift users. 
 

How Shift Browser uses your location

Shift AI uses your general location to make your assistant more helpful. If you ask about the weather or local spots, the AI estimates your location based on your IP address. It only looks at the city, region, and country level. Shift won't use precise geolocation or GPS coordinates.

When does Shift AI ask for access?

The AI will only ask for your location when it needs that info to answer a specific question. If, for example, you ask "Find restaurants near me," you'll see a prompt in the chat box to allow access to your location.

You can choose from three options:

  • Share Always: This shares your location now and for all future questions.
  • Share Once: This shares your info for just this one question.
  • Not now: This declines the request. Shift will try its best to answer without using your location.
Gif shows a user asking Shift AI what restaurants are in their area. They see the location sharing options appear and select one.

Change your location settings in Shift Browser

You can update your preferences at any time. It's easy to revoke access if you change your mind.

Use the chat menu

  1. Open AI Chat.
  2. Click the three dots (overflow menu) in the top-right corner.
  3. Toggle Always share my location on or off.

Use AI Chat Settings

  1. Open AI Chat.
  2. Click the three dots and select Settings.
  3. Go to the General tab.
  4. Check or uncheck Share your location with Shift AI.
  5. Save your changes.
Gif shows the two options for updating location services in AI Chat. Either through the options menu, or in AI Chat Settings.

What data is being shared?

Shift uses your IP address to get a rough idea of where you are. The data includes your City, Region, and Country (i.e. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada). Since we don't collect latitude or longitude, your exact house or street remains private. We only cache this info for about 60 seconds and refresh it as needed.

Is my location data stored?

Shift remembers your preference (like "always share") when you’re signed in and synced, but it doesn't store a permanent history of where you've been. The actual location data is fetched on demand and kept briefly in the browser's memory. The AI model only receives this info when it's relevant to your specific conversation.

Privacy protections in Shift Browser

We built Shift AI to be helpful without being intrusive. Here's how we keep your location private:

  • We use approximate IP data rather than precise GPS.
  • You choose whether to share once, always, or not at all.
  • You can revoke "always share" access whenever you like.
  • Our AI is instructed not to repeat your location unless it's part of the answer.

For more details on how we protect your data, you can review our Shift Privacy Policy or get more information from our Shift AI Privacy & Security article.

Have questions or need more support? Click to access our request form and get in touch with our Support team.

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