How do I stop apps tracking my location?
The three permission levels, which apps genuinely need location, and the settings people never find.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 20 min
- Read
- 2 min
Short answer
Set every app to "while using" rather than "always", and turn off precise location for anything that only needs your rough area. Very few apps have any legitimate need for background location.
Location permission is not binary. Modern phones offer several levels, and the difference between "always" and "while using" is the difference between an app knowing your movements and knowing where you are when you open it.
Step by step
- Review location permissions app by app.In the privacy or location settings. Both platforms list every app and its current level. This list is usually surprising.
- Set almost everything to "while using".The single most useful change. Maps and weather work perfectly this way; only a very few things — a fitness tracker recording a route, a genuine find-my-phone service — need background access.
- Turn off precise location where it is not needed.Both platforms let an app have your approximate area rather than your exact position. Weather, news and shopping apps do not need metres of precision.
- Deny location entirely to anything that does not need it.Games, calculators, photo editors, social apps. If you cannot see why it needs location, it does not.
- Check the location history setting separately.Distinct from app permissions. Your account may be recording a timeline of everywhere you go. Turn it off and delete the history if you would rather not.
- Turn off location for photographs if it concerns you.Photos store where they were taken, which is embedded when you share them. There is a setting to stop it, and a way to strip it before sharing.
- Check the advertising identifier.Separate from location and used to link your activity across apps. Both platforms allow resetting or disabling it, and it is worth doing.
- Re-check after updates.System updates and app updates both reset or re-request permissions. A review twice a year keeps it honest.
Tips
- Apps that stop working when you deny location are rare. Most simply lose a feature you were not using.
- "While using" also stops the notification asking whether an app should keep tracking — the phone stops asking because the answer is settled.
- If you share your location with family, check it is the arrangement you intended and that it is not still active from a one-off trip.
Questions people ask
Should I let apps access my location always?
Very rarely. "While using" covers nearly every genuine need. Background location is only justified for things like route recording or find-my-phone.
Do photographs record where they were taken?
By default, yes, and it travels with the file when shared. There is a setting to stop recording it and a way to strip it from existing photos before sharing.