Location monitoring will be very useful — it’s handy when an app can let you know, say, the place the close by eating places or fuel stations are — however it’s also a privacy issue. Do you need all of your wanderings registered by Google? Are you comfy realizing that Mark Zuckerberg’s minions know the place you might be always? (Well, not that Mark Zuckerberg has minions, however what I imply.)

In this text, we’ll check out tips on how to cease location monitoring in your Android telephone (and your Google account) and tips on how to delete your location historical past out of your OS and from among the extra in style apps. As all the time, be aware that variations of Android can differ, and plenty of producers use overlays as nicely, which might change the places of assorted instructions — however they need to be comparable sufficient for you to have the ability to discover your means. For these directions, I’ve used a Pixel 6 telephone working Android 12, however I’ve included some instructions for these with earlier variations of Android.

Stop Google from monitoring you, interval.

You most likely know that Google can observe your location and actions by its Google Maps app. But chances are you’ll not understand that your Android telephone can be monitoring your actions and actions by a number of different built-in apps.

If you actually don’t need your telephone to be monitoring any of your actions and actions, there’s a technique to flip monitoring off for all (nicely, most) of them. You simply should be conscious that you simply’re most likely going to render a lot of your apps (resembling ride-share apps, climate apps, and, in fact, mapping apps) much less usable — or in some circumstances, utterly unusable.

Stop Google monitoring utilizing a browser

First, we’re going to cease Google from saving your information.

• Go to https://myactivity.google.com/.
• Under “My Google Activity” you’ll see the buttons for 3 forms of exercise: Web & App Activity, Location History, and YouTube History. You can go to every individually by deciding on the suitable button.

• A extra environment friendly means, although, could also be to go to Activity Controls, discovered within the left-hand menu. This web page will present you all three controls on the identical web page; as well as, you may management advert personalization.

• “Web & App Activity” covers something you’ve completed on Google apps and providers. You can flip monitoring off utterly, or select to maintain it on however cease it from saving your historical past or exercise once you use your Chrome browser. You may also flip off “Include audio recordings,” which determines if all of your audio interactions with Google and / or Google Assistant are saved.
• The different related class is, in fact, “Location History,” which saves details about the place you’ve gone along with your machine. Also, search for “Devices on this account” and click on the down icon to the precise; you’ll get a listing of all of the gadgets that you’ve got which can be presently following your location — since that will embody outdated telephones that you’re now not utilizing, it is a good factor to verify.
• We would possibly as nicely point out which you can additionally disable your “YouTube History,” which incorporates each your search and watch historical past, and “Ad personalization,” which makes use of your historical past to decide on which adverts you’ll see.

Okay — you’ve now prevented any extra information from being gathered. But chances are you’ll wish to delete all or among the data that’s already been collected.

• Go again to the My Activity web page and click on on “Delete activity by” within the left-hand menu.
• You’ll get a pop-up window that allows you to delete your exercise based mostly on time interval: the final hour, final day, “All time” (in different phrases, all dates), or “Custom range” for a particular date vary.

• If you select “Custom range,” you’ll be capable to select a date vary. If you select “All time,” you may then filter that data relying on providers (resembling adverts, Chrome, Google Play Store, and so forth.). When you’re prepared, click on on “Next.”

• You’ll then get a preview of among the actions that will likely be deleted. If you’re okay with that, choose “Delete.”

Incidentally, if you wish to ensure that no person however you may delete your histories, then choose the “Manage activity” hyperlink below every class in Activity Controls, and search for “Manage My Activity verification.” If you allow that function, Google will ask for a password any time you wish to have a look at or delete any historical past in your account.

And in the event you don’t wish to fear about manually deleting your stuff, you may allow auto-delete in every class (you’ll see the choice inside every class on the Activity Controls web page). You’ll have the choice to mechanically delete your exercise after both three, 18, or 36 months.

Stop Google monitoring on an Android machine

• Go to Settings. In the search field on high, kind in “Activity controls” and faucet it when it comes up.
• If you’ve gotten multiple Google account, choose the one you wish to handle.
• Here, as with the browser model, you may flip off or pause the monitoring of assorted actions, together with setting auto-delete and managing a timeline of your exercise.

Turn location monitoring on and off from the Quick Settings tray

If you need to have the ability to flip location monitoring on or off as you want it, you are able to do that, too. One technique to prepare that is to make use of the Quick Settings tray (which is what you see once you swipe down from the highest of your display). The tray holds a wide range of icons for essentially the most often-used Android options; there’s a “Location” icon that allows you to toggle the situation function on and off.

• Swipe down from the highest of the display. If you’re utilizing Android 12, you’ll see a sequence of bubbles for issues like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, flashlight, and so forth. If you’re utilizing Android 11 or earlier, it is going to be a line of icons. Either means, that’s your Quick Settings tray. Look for the Location icon (normally, it appears like an upside-down drop of water).
• Not there? With Android 12, swipe throughout to see extra bubbles; in any other case, swipe down.
• Still lacking? Look for a pencil icon; on a Pixel, it is going to be on the underside of the tray, however some Android interfaces could have it on high. Tap on the pencil, and the menu will open additional. You can now see all of the icons which can be accessible. What you wish to do is make sure that the Location icon is within the simply seen a part of the tray.
• If your Location icon is within the backside part, maintain and drag it as much as the seen group.

You’ll now be capable to shortly swipe down from the highest of your display and toggle Location on and off — for instance, if you wish to use Google Maps for instructions, you may toggle Location on, after which flip it again off once you’re completed.

Stop location monitoring on Android gadgets

If you don’t really feel the necessity to block Google from recording all of your actions, and easily wish to cease the telephone from recording your location, it’s simple to do — so long as you take note of the small print:

• Swipe down from the highest of the display so that you simply see your Quick Settings menu, and long-press on the Location icon — or swipe down, faucet the Settings icon, and select “Location.”
• You’re now on the Location web page. Find the “Use location” function on the high and toggle it off.

You’d assume that may be it, wouldn’t you? But you’d be incorrect. What is supposed by “Use location” in Android is determined by which sensors are following the situation of the machine: apart from GPS, it may very well be Wi-Fi, cellular networks, or different sensors. So earlier than you allow this web page, look a bit additional down. If you’re utilizing Android 12, search for the “Location services” button, in any other case, search for the “Advanced” button and faucet on that.

Either means, you’ll have a number of classes which you can toggle on or off. These will be (relying in your Android model and your telephone’s producer):

• Google Emergency Location Service. This tells emergency providers the place you might be if there’s an issue; for instance, in case your automobile goes off the highway and the ambulance wants to search out you. You can flip this off in order for you, however learn the advantageous print: “If ELS is off, your mobile carrier may still send device location during an emergency call.”
• Google Location Accuracy. This makes use of Wi-Fi and different providers to assist pinpoint your location. If you wish to flip off “Use location,” you’ll want to make sure that that is turned off as nicely. Any app that requires “precise location” (which I’ll clarify in a bit) wants this to be turned on.
• Google Location History. This leads you to a web page the place you may pause your machine’s assortment of your location historical past. That doesn’t eliminate what’s already been saved; there are directions for that a bit later on this article.
• Google Location Sharing. If you’re sharing your location with members of the family or buddies, you may handle it right here.
• Wi-Fi scanning. This lets apps and providers scan for native Wi-Fi networks, even in case you have Wi-Fi turned off.
• Bluetooth scanning. This lets apps and providers seek for Bluetooth gadgets even when Bluetooth is off. Both this and the Wi-Fi scanning are supposed to enhance location options.

If you may’t see these final two, return to the Location web page and search for a “Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning” hyperlink.

Disable location monitoring for any particular app

You can discover out which apps really use location monitoring and simply disable it for people who you’re feeling don’t want it.

• Go to the Location web page (by long-pressing the Location icon in your Quick Settings tray).
• Tap on “App permission” (or, in the event you’re utilizing Android 12, search for “App location permissions”).
• You’ll discover right here a listing of all of your present apps which have permission to entry your location both all the time or solely whereas in use. Tap on any to vary the permission to both enable all the time, enable solely whereas in use, ask each time, or deny. You may also determine whether or not the app will likely be allowed to make use of “precise location” — in different phrases, use greater than GPS to find out the place you might be. For that, “Google Location Accuracy,” additionally discovered on the Location web page.

Sometimes once you flip off permissions within the Android Settings, the app itself will regularly attempt to get you to revive that permission. It’s irritating, however except the app helps you to say, “No, leave me alone,” you’ll both need to stay with it or get a special app.

Delete your location historical past

While you may flip off location monitoring out of your Android telephone’s settings, as soon as a service has collected your location data, eliminating that historical past takes a bit work. If you wish to delete your location historical past, the primary place you’ll want to go is Google; after that, apps that acquire this data embody Facebook and Twitter.

Delete your Google location historical past on Android

While you may delete location historical past collected in your Google timeline within the My Activity space (see above), you may as well eliminate it simply in Google Maps.

• Go to your Google Maps app.
• Tap in your profile icon within the higher left nook.
• Tap on “Your Timeline.”
• Select the three dots within the higher proper nook. Tap on “Settings and Privacy.”
• Scroll right down to “Delete all Location History.” You’ll get a pop-up window that asks you to verify a field saying that you simply perceive that a few of your apps might not work correctly. Check the field and choose “Delete.”
• You even have the choice of deleting your location historical past inside a date vary or setting the app to mechanically delete your location historical past after three, 18, or 36 months.

Delete your Google location historical past on a browser

• Go to https://www.google.com/maps.
• Tap on the three parallel strains within the higher left nook of the facet panel. (If you don’t see the panel, search for the small arrow within the higher left nook and click on on it.) Select “Your timeline.”
• Look for the gear icon on the decrease proper facet of the display. Click on it, after which on “Delete all Location History.” You may also set the automated deletion function right here.

• As with the cellular app, you’ll get a pop-up window that asks you to verify a field saying that you simply perceive that a few of your apps might not work correctly. Check the field and choose “Delete Location History.”

Delete your location historical past on Facebook

Facebook does hold a separate historical past of your places, and if you wish to delete that historical past, you are able to do it by the cellular app or the browser.

Using the Android app

• In the Facebook app, faucet the hamburger (three parallel strains) within the high proper nook.
• Scroll down and faucet on “Settings & Privacy.”
• Tap on “Settings.”
• Scroll down and faucet on “Location” (which is below the “Permissions” subhead). This will take you to the “Location Services” web page.
• You can now select to let Facebook entry your telephone’s location on a regular basis, whereas utilizing the app, or by no means.
• If you wish to enable Facebook to avoid wasting a historical past of your places (or cease it from doing so), faucet on “Location History” to toggle it on or off. It’s right here which you can additionally delete your current location historical past.

Using a browser

• In Facebook, click on on the small arrow subsequent to the Notifications icon within the higher proper nook. Click on “Settings & Privacy” > “Privacy Shortcuts.”
• Click on “Manage your location settings.”

• On the “Location Settings” web page, click on on the “View your Location History” button.

• Then click on on the gear within the higher left nook. As with the cellular app, now you can both delete that particular day or delete your total location historical past.

• On the “Location Settings” web page, you may as well flip your location historical past on or off in your cellular gadgets.

Delete your location historical past on Twitter

Twitter makes it comparatively easy to show off its location monitoring inside the Android app.

• Tap in your private icon within the higher left of the homescreen.
• Tap on “Settings and privacy.”
• Tap on “Privacy and safety.”
• Scroll down till you see “Location information” and faucet on it. You can then toggle off the packing containers that give Twitter permission to gather your GPS and different location data. And don’t overlook to faucet on “Explore settings,” which provides Twitter the choice to indicate close by content material.

You can delete your Twitter location historical past as nicely, however solely out of your browser.

• Go to your Twitter account, click on on “More” within the left column and on “Settings and privacy.”
• In the left-hand menu, click on on “Privacy and safety.” Scroll down and choose “Location information.”

• Uncheck “Personalize based on places you’ve been.” Then click on on “Add location information to your Tweets.”

Uncheck “Add location information to your Tweets.” Then click on on “Delete all location information.” And if it asks: sure, you might be positive.

Update August twenty fifth, 2020, 2:37PM ET: This article was initially printed on April twelfth, 2019; it has been up to date to incorporate the replace from Android 9 to Android 10, together with adjustments to numerous web-based purposes.

Update November thirtieth, 2021, 3:55PM ET: Updated to mirror adjustments within the Android working system and in Google, Facebook, and Twitter apps.