your device and apps really, really want to know where you are—whether it’s to tell you the weather, recommend some restaurants you might like, or better target ads at you. Managing what you’re sharing and what you’re not sharing, and when, can quickly become confusing.
It is also possible that you have inconsistencies in the different location histories recorded by your device: Times when you thought you had location sharing turned off and blocked but you were still being tracked or vice versa again.
Here we’ll cover everything you need to consider when it comes to location tracking and hopefully simplify it along the way. Whether you want to grant access to your current location or not, you should control these settings and not be surprised by additional options you missed.
How location tracking becomes confusing
What if you clearly remember turning off location tracking on your device, but your location still shows up on the map? Or maybe you thought you left the feature on, but you see gaps in your location history? There are several explanations, but basically, you need to remember all the different ways your location can be recorded: by device, by app, and by website you visit.
For example, you may have turned off location tracking on your phone, but still have it enabled on your tablet. Alternatively, you may have a laptop tracking your location in the background, even though you think you’ve turned it off in the apps you use. If you want to turn location tracking on or off completely, you need to take into account all these different ways to track your location.
If you have a Google account, this is a good illustration. Go your account settings on the web, then select Data and Privacy And Location history. Select Devices on this Accountthis may reveal some phones, tablets, and laptops you’ve forgotten—any device with a check mark next to it on this list is saving your movements to your Google account for refer later.
you can press Turn off to disable this feature, but be aware of the notes listed in the confirmation box that appears on the screen: Your location may still be recorded by your mobile devices, by the Find My Device service device helps you recover lost hardware and by Google Maps as you’re navigating or searching around the area you’re in. This Location History setting is more of an overall on/off switch, affecting features like Google Timeline and the ability to quickly look up places you visit frequently.
