Do you ever feel like your apps are constantly spying on you, knowing where you live and what you are doing? You’re not alone — and that’s because they probably are. Apps have collected so much data; how much they know and store is often shocking. Unfortunately, we allow apps so much access, giving up so much personal information in the process.
One intrusive setting that apps can access is location tracking services. While some GPS-based apps require it for location sharing and navigation, others don’t need that and, therefore, shouldn’t see it. Whether you own a Google Pixel, a Samsung, or a Motorola, you can turn off location services for apps and restrict them per app. Our guide illustrates how to stop apps from tracking your location.
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Why should you turn off location services?
Unless the app requires your location for the app to work (e.g., Google Maps), you should be wary about which apps have these permissions enabled and for what purpose. For example, some apps use location services for data collection purposes, particularly ad-targeting, while others will use them to tailor recommendations or improve their services. In those cases, knowing your location isn’t necessary for these apps to run, and you’re giving up more information for free without any benefits (and your consent).
It’s also considered a cybersecurity risk for apps to constantly collect and share your location data with third-party services. By doing so, you’re trusting third-party services with your data and keeping that data safe and secure — which should be terrifying when your personal details are on the line.
The last benefit to turning off location services is that it is also a great way to prolong your device’s battery life. Every time an app checks for your location, it needs to maintain a connection with the GPS and cellular signal; if this is done constantly, it affects your device’s power output, thus draining its battery.
How to turn off location services
You can turn off location services via the location settings for quick peace of mind. The steps may vary slightly depending on the Android version and whether it’s heavily skinned. In this guide, we use an Android phone running One UI 6.1 (based on Android 14), but the steps should be similar if you’re on a stock version of Android.
- Go to Settings.
- Select Location.
- Tap the toggle next to On (to turn it off). If successful, you may receive a warning message indicating that all your apps do not have location access, prompting you to turn it back on (only turn it back on when you need to).
How to turn off location permissions from an app
If you do not want to disable location services entirely, you can do this on a per-app basis instead. Some apps are more trustworthy and require tracking the location for these apps to work. Apps like Google Maps, Strava, Waze, and weather apps need to know your location to function properly. But social media apps usually don’t. We recommend turning off location permissions for those apps that don’t require it. Here’s how:
- Go to Settings > Apps.
- Select an app.
- Tap Permissions.
- Select Location under Allowed. Choose Don’t allow. Location should be listed under the Not allowed section under your App permissions.
Opt out of personalized ads
When personalized ads are turned on, they are notorious for tracking your location. Most often, they can do more than collect your location info and even make you feel you are being spied on. We recommend checking your settings to ensure this feature is off. Here’s what you need to do:
- Open your Google Account page.
- Go to the Data & privacy tab.
- Tap My Ad Center under the Personalized ads section.
- Select Off in the Personalized ads dropdown.
- On the next page, tap Turn off to confirm.
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Use DuckDuckGo to identify app location tracking
DuckDuckGo (a privacy-focused web browser app) has an App Tracking Protection feature for Android that helps detect and block third-party trackers in your apps. When the feature is enabled, it will deny most of those requests. All it requires is installing the DuckDuckGo app (we include the download widget below this section) and enabling this feature through the settings. Follow the steps below to get started:
- Download and install DuckDuckGo.
- Tap the Three-dot icon in the top-right corner.
- Select Settings.
- Tap App Tracking Protection.
- Choose Continue.
- Tap Enable App Tracking Protection.
- Select Ok. Once you’ve enabled it, you will see a list of apps with hidden trackers, blocked tracking attempts, and apps that have protection disabled.
Does installing a dedicated VPN help prevent location tracking?
The short answer is no. VPNs mask your IP address and encrypt your data, but they do not always prevent tracking. VPNs protect you from apps that rely on using your IP address to learn your location since they essentially replace your actual IP address with one from the server. Unfortunately, that isn’t the only method for tracking your location (apps can track your location by accessing your GPS sensor data — which determines your physical location unless you spoof it).
Protect your digital privacy
We live in a world where protecting our digital privacy is more difficult than it should be. With AI potentially sharing a lot of personal information with companies, we must do what we can to protect our data. If you’re absolutely worried about how much you leave out there, you can always take back control. In more extreme cases, you can always nuke your account and start over, which includes deleting your Google account, deactivating apps, and requesting the removal of your data.
