Do you want to know how to stop Google from tracking your location? Follow this simple guide and turn off location tracking to prevent Google from knowing your location.
Today all smartphones are equipped with a GPS chip. Thanks to the location data collected on your mobile it is very easy to trace your movements. Here are some tips to protect your privacy and prevent Google from tracking you. Even if Location History is disabled on your phone, Google often saves your exact location. Here are some things you can do to erase those bookmarks and keep your location as private as possible. However, there is no definitive solution because simply by connecting to the Internet, any device shows an IP address, a numerical designation that can be mapped geographically. The smartphones also connect to cell towers, so your service provider knows your general location at all times.
To avoid further crawling by Google
On any device:
Enter your browser and go to myactivity.google.com. Log in to your Google account if you have not already done so. In the top pull-down menu, go to “Activity controls” and turn off “Web and application activity” and “Location History”. This should prevent accurate location markers from being stored in your Google account. Google will warn you that some services do not work as well without these options. In particular, neither the Google Assistant nor the Google Home smart speaker will be particularly useful.
In iOS
If you use Google Maps, adjust your location settings to “When using the app”; this prevents the app from accessing your location when it is not active. Go to Settings – Privacy – Location and Google Maps to make the change. In the Safari browser, consider using a search engine other than Google. Under Configuration – Safari – Finder, you can find other options such as Bing or DuckDuckGo. You can disable your location while browsing by going to Settings – Privacy – Locating – Safari websites and changing this to “Never”. This will not prevent advertisers from knowing your approximate location based on IP addresses on any website.
You can also deactivate location services on the device almost completely from Settings – Privacy – Location. Both Google Maps and Apple Maps will work, but they will not know where you are on the map and they will not be able to give you directions. Rescuers will be able to know where you are if necessary.
On Android:
Under the main configuration icon, click on “Security and location”. Go to the “Privacy” section. Touch “Location.” You can deactivate it for the entire device. Use “Permissions in apps” to remove access to several apps. Unlike iOS, there is no configuration for “when using”. You cannot turn off Google Play services, which offers your location to other apps if you leave that service active. Enter as “guest” on your Android device. Consider what active services your account has, like Chrome. You can also change the search engine even in Chrome.
To delete past locations on any device:
On the myactivity.google.com page, find any entry that has a location marker next to the word “Details.” Clicking on it opens a window that includes a link that says “From your current location”. Clicking on it will open Google Maps that will show where you were at that moment. You can delete this from the “Element details” menu by clicking on the three points icon and then “Delete”. Some items will be grouped in unexpected places, such as topic names, google.com, Search or Maps. You have to eliminate them element by element. You can delete them all by date range or by service, but that would eliminate more than just location markers.
Official Google Statement
Location History is a completely optional Google product, and users have the necessary controls to edit, remove or deactivate it at any time. We make sure that Location History users know that when they disable the product, we continue to use the location to improve Google’s experience when they perform actions such as a Google search or use Google maps to obtain route directions. For additional information, we invite you to visit the site of our privacy policies and terms.
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