Geolocation: getCurrentPosition() method

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.

Secure context: This feature is available only in secure contexts (HTTPS), in some or all supporting browsers.

The getCurrentPosition() method of the Geolocation interface is used to get the current position of the device.

Note that in addition to requiring a secure context this feature may be blocked by the geolocation Permissions-Policy, and also requires that explicit permission be granted by the user. If required, the user will be prompted when this method is called. The permission state can be queried using the geolocation user permission in the Permissions API.

Syntax

js
getCurrentPosition(success)
getCurrentPosition(success, error)
getCurrentPosition(success, error, options)

Parameters

success

A callback function that takes a GeolocationPosition object as its sole input parameter.

error Optional

An optional callback function that takes a GeolocationPositionError object as its sole input parameter.

options Optional

An optional object including the following parameters:

maximumAge Optional

A positive long value indicating the maximum age in milliseconds of a possible cached position that is acceptable to return. If set to 0, it means that the device cannot use a cached position and must attempt to retrieve the real current position. If set to Infinity the device must return a cached position regardless of its age. Default: 0.

timeout Optional

A positive long value representing the maximum length of time (in milliseconds) the device is allowed to take in order to return a position. The default value is Infinity, meaning that getCurrentPosition() won't return until the position is available.

enableHighAccuracy Optional

A boolean value that indicates the application would like to receive the best possible results. If true and if the device is able to provide a more accurate position, it will do so. Note that this can result in slower response times or increased power consumption (with a GPS chip on a mobile device for example). On the other hand, if false, the device can take the liberty to save resources by responding more quickly and/or using less power. Default: false.

Return value

None (undefined).

Examples

js
const options = {
  enableHighAccuracy: true,
  timeout: 5000,
  maximumAge: 0,
};

function success(pos) {
  const crd = pos.coords;

  console.log("Your current position is:");
  console.log(`Latitude : ${crd.latitude}`);
  console.log(`Longitude: ${crd.longitude}`);
  console.log(`More or less ${crd.accuracy} meters.`);
}

function error(err) {
  console.warn(`ERROR(${err.code}): ${err.message}`);
}

navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(success, error, options);

Specifications

Specification
Geolocation
# getcurrentposition-method

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also