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Strange icon in status bar

buzzshipman

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Apr 15, 2011
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Hi I had a strange staus bar icon show up recently. It happened really fast and was only on for a few seconds and would then disappear. I have included 2 pictures I was able to get of it. Can anyone help out with what this is.

Thanks
KevinIMG_8555.jpgIMG_8553.jpg
 

Tartarus

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Feb 20, 2014
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It means some app was actively using your location services.
Most likely a navigation app like Maps, Google Maps or some other app.
 

Lee_Bo

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Apr 6, 2016
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In my years of iOS I've never seen that blue icon. May be app related.

However, the solid white arrow means your phones GPS is currently active. A hollow arrow icon (just a white outline) indicates GPS was used recently.
 

Annie_M

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Mar 2, 2016
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I've never seen it before either. I wonder if this is something new with iOS 13, but the OP obviously posted this in the iOS 12 forum so probably not.
 

doogald

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Oct 23, 2012
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It would be weird for it to be another location icon, since there is already one there, right between the WiFi and battery info.

Blue background means either screen mirroring, your phone is providing a personal hotspot to another device, or an app is providing location actively (such as Google Maps or Waze running in the background, actively doing route guidance.) See https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207354

So, was your phone doing one of those things?
 

Tartarus

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It would be weird for it to be another location icon, since there is already one there, right between the WiFi and battery info.

Blue background means either screen mirroring, your phone is providing a personal hotspot to another device, or an app is providing location actively (such as Google Maps or Waze running in the background, actively doing route guidance.) See https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207354

So, was your phone doing one of those things?

Nope, it really means a navigation app is currently active on the background. The arrow near the battery indicator is only there to show you an app is / has been using your location for other purposes.
 

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