Do you want to know how to manage the apps that access your location? You can read this guide to understand how to control the apps that access location on Android and iOS devices. You should know that you are often tracked by apps and many online services. Sometimes you see personalized ads on your phone. You see personalized ads because your location and much other information are tracked by apps and digital platforms. If you don’t like to be tracked by someone, you can stop it right now. You can understand the apps that store your location history, and then you can stop them. So, let’s see this guide on controlling apps that access your location.
How to take care of your location data
You can safely share location with a navigation app to get correct directions. Sharing location with the Camera app is also useful. It makes you remember the name of a particular place. Location services mostly help in finding lost devices. On the other hand, it doesn’t make any sense to share location with apps like news and restaurants. Let’s see how you can control such apps.
iOS 14
iOS devices have different options to enable location sharing. The location sharing options vary based on the iOS version installed on your phone. You should update your iOS device when a software update is available to get newer security features. The following directions are based on iOS 14.4.Turning off location on previous versions of iOS share almost similar methods mentioned in this post.
Disabling location services
- Go to the Settings app.
- Go down and click on Privacy.
- Hit on Location Services.
- Turn off the toggle button next to Location Services to disable the feature.
Turning off location sharing for particular apps
- Go to the Settings app.
- Go down and hit on Privacy.
- Then click on Location Services.
- Now choose the app that you want to control.
- Select any of the four options: Never, Ask Next Time, While Using the App, and Always.
- Disable the toggle button next to Precise Location to turn off the feature. You will not see it if the app is using Never.
Preventing location sharing in the background
- Head to the Settings app.
- Then go to General.
- Hit on Background App Refresh.
- Click on the Toggle near the app you have to disable.
If you have to turn off the background refresh for all apps, hit on the Background App Refresh having Off on the next screen.
Disabling access to IDFA or Identifier For Advertisers
Devices with IDFA show you custom ads without providing your personal information to ad networks. Here is how to disable it.
- Launch the Settings app.
- Hit on Privacy.
- Then click on Tracking.
- Hit on the Toggle button near the option called Allow Apps to Request to Track to turn this feature off.
Knowing about System Services
Here you have a chance to enable or disable a range of features that are responsible for sharing your local activities, such as Traffic, Popular Near Me, Significant Locations, and more.
- Open Settings app.
- Click on Privacy.
- Hit on Location Services.
- Go down until you find System services and hit on it.
- Here you can manage these settings and allow them based on your needs.
- Go down and hit on the Significant Locations.
- Hit on the Clear History option to erase the locations. It will work on all devices having a common Apple ID.
Android 11/Android 10
Google monitors your location history through your Google account on an Android phone. A Google account can be accessed on any device and PC. Your location data is stored on your Gmail account. In addition to it, your every online activity is controlled by Google and stored in the Gmail account. Let’s see how you can change location permissions on an app basis.
How to change location permissions per app
- Go to Settings.
- Hit on Location.
- Click on App Permissions on Samsung phones. In the case of a Pixel phone, hit on the App Access to Location. All apps are categorized into three sections: Allowed All The Time, Allowed Only While In Use, and Denied.
- Click on the app you have to alter.
How to stop Google from storing your location
- Go to the Settings app.
- Hit on Google.
- Click on Manage Your Google Account.
- Hit on the Account tab.
- Now click on the Data & Personalization from the top.
- Hit on Location History.
- Hit on the Toggle near the Location History to turn off this service.
- Now hit on the People & Sharing category from the top.
- Choose Manage Location Sharing.
- Eliminate individuals to stop seeing your location.
Read Official Blog Post – How to Control the Apps that Access Your Location on Android and iOS
