Location Tracking: Who Knows Where You Are

Your phone knows everywhere you go. It tracks which stores you visit, how long you stay at work, when you go to the doctor, and where you spend your evenings. This location data creates a detailed map of your life, revealing patterns and relationships that even close friends might not know. Dozens of apps access this information, and many of them share it with advertisers, data brokers, and other third parties.

Location tracking isn't inherently bad. Maps need your location to provide directions. Weather apps show local forecasts. Ride-sharing apps connect you with nearby drivers. But many apps request location access when they don't need it, collecting data to sell rather than to provide better service. Understanding how location tracking works and how to control it helps you maintain privacy while keeping useful location features.

How Your Phone Tracks Location

Smartphones use multiple methods to determine your location. GPS satellites provide accurate positioning outdoors, typically within a few meters. Cell tower triangulation tracks your approximate location based on nearby cellular towers. WiFi positioning uses known locations of WiFi networks to pinpoint where you are, even indoors where GPS doesn't work well. Bluetooth beacons in stores and public spaces can track your movement to centimeter-level precision.

Your phone combines these methods to maintain continuous location awareness. Even with GPS turned off, cell towers and WiFi reveal your approximate location. Only turning on airplane mode and disabling WiFi truly stops location tracking, and even then, your phone may log locations to sync later when connectivity returns.

iPhone Location Settings

Apple provides relatively strong location privacy controls, but you need to configure them properly to benefit from these protections.

System-Wide Location Settings

Open Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services. At the top, you can disable location services entirely, but this breaks navigation, weather, and other useful features. Instead, review each app individually.

For each app, you have four choices: Never, Ask Next Time, While Using the App, or Always. Most apps should be set to "While Using" or "Never." Very few apps legitimately need "Always" access, which allows tracking even when the app is closed.

Scroll to the bottom of Location Services to find System Services. This shows how iOS itself uses location. Disable "Location-Based Suggestions," "Location-Based Alerts," and "Location-Based Apple Ads." Keep "Find My iPhone" enabled for device recovery, but review others based on your needs.

Precise Location Control

iOS allows you to grant approximate location instead of precise location for apps that don't need exact positioning. When viewing an app's location settings, toggle off "Precise Location" for apps like weather or news that work fine with city-level accuracy. This lets them function while revealing less about your exact whereabouts.

Location History

iPhone tracks significant locations you visit regularly in Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services, System Services, Significant Locations. Review this history to see what Apple knows about your movements. You can clear the history and disable this feature entirely.

Android Location Settings

Android's location settings vary by manufacturer, but core controls exist on all devices running recent Android versions.

App Permissions

Open Settings, then Location or Privacy, then Permission manager, then Location. This shows every app with location access. Like iOS, Android offers choices: Allow all the time, Allow only while using the app, Ask every time, or Don't allow.

Review each app and change "Allow all the time" to more restrictive options unless you have a specific reason for continuous tracking. Social media apps, games, and shopping apps rarely need constant location access.

Android 12 and newer offer approximate location as an option. When granting location permission, select "Approximate" instead of "Precise" for apps that don't need your exact position.

Google Location History

Google maintains a detailed timeline of everywhere you've been if Location History is enabled. View this at myactivity.google.com or in the Google Maps app under Your Timeline.

To disable Google Location History, open the Google app or visit your Google Account settings, go to Data & Privacy, then Location History, and turn it off. You can also delete existing history. Note that this is separate from your phone's location services and requires a separate opt-out.

WiFi and Bluetooth Scanning

Android uses WiFi and Bluetooth scanning to improve location accuracy even when those features are turned off. Go to Settings, Location, Location Services, and disable WiFi scanning and Bluetooth scanning if you don't want this background tracking.

App-by-App Location Decisions

Not all apps need the same level of location access. Here's how to think about different app categories.

Navigation and Maps

These apps need location access to function. Grant "While Using" permission. They don't need "Always" access unless you want background notifications about traffic or saved parking locations.

Weather Apps

Weather apps work fine with approximate location or even manual city selection. Consider denying location access and just typing your city name instead of letting the app track your precise movements.

Social Media

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and similar apps request location to tag posts and show local content. Set these to "Ask Next Time" or "While Using" so you control when location is shared. Better yet, set to "Never" and manually add location tags to posts when desired.

Shopping and Retail Apps

Stores want to track when you visit physical locations and send targeted offers. Most shopping apps don't need location access at all. Set to "Never" unless you specifically want in-store features.

Games

Some games use location for gameplay, like Pokemon Go. Most don't need it at all. Be especially cautious with children's games requesting location access.

Photo Location Data

Every photo you take with your smartphone likely contains hidden location data in its EXIF metadata. When you share photos on social media or send them in messages, this metadata reveals exactly where the photo was taken.

Viewing Photo Locations

On iPhone, open a photo, swipe up, and you'll see a map showing where it was taken. On Android, view photo details to see location information. This same data is visible to anyone you share the photo with unless you remove it first.

Disabling Location in Photos

On iPhone, go to Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services, Camera, and select "Never" or "While Using the App." "While Using" still embeds location in photos but prevents background tracking. To stop location embedding entirely, choose "Never," though this prevents some features like photo organization by place.

On Android, open your Camera app settings and look for a "Location tags" or "GPS tags" option. Disable this to stop embedding location in new photos.

Removing Location from Existing Photos

Before sharing photos, remove location metadata. On iPhone, when selecting photos to share, tap "Options" at the top and toggle off "Location." On Android, some apps like Google Photos let you remove location before sharing, or use a dedicated metadata removal app.

When posting to social media, most platforms strip location metadata automatically, but don't rely on this. Remove it yourself before uploading sensitive photos.

Location Sharing Features

Both iPhone and Android offer features to share your real-time location with friends and family. These can be useful for coordination but create privacy risks if not carefully managed.

iPhone's Find My

The Find My app lets you share your location with specific contacts. Review who has access in the Find My app under the "People" tab. Remove anyone who no longer needs access. Pay attention to whether sharing is set to "indefinitely" or for a limited time.

Google Maps Location Sharing

Google Maps allows location sharing with contacts. Open Google Maps, tap your profile icon, select "Location sharing," and review who can see your location. End sharing when it's no longer needed.

Third-Party Apps

Apps like Life360, Snapchat's Snap Map, and Find My Friends create persistent location sharing. Review these regularly and limit to necessary contacts. Many people forget they're sharing location long after the original reason ended.

WiFi and Bluetooth Tracking

Even without using your phone, WiFi and Bluetooth signals can track your movements through stores, shopping centers, and public spaces.

Your phone's WiFi and Bluetooth constantly broadcast unique identifiers. Retailers place sensors that detect these signals, tracking customer movement through stores, how long they spend in specific sections, and how often they return.

On iPhone, go to Settings, WiFi, and turn off "Ask to Join Networks." This reduces WiFi scanning when you're not actively using it. For Bluetooth, disable it when not needed.

Some phones offer MAC address randomization, which changes your WiFi identifier regularly to prevent persistent tracking. On newer iPhones, this happens automatically. On Android, go to WiFi settings, select your network, and ensure "Use randomized MAC" is enabled.

Limiting Background Location Collection

Apps often request "Always" location access claiming they need it for features, but usually they want to build detailed profiles of your movements to sell to data brokers.

Review which apps have "Always" access and ask whether each one truly needs it. Fitness apps might legitimately need it to track workouts automatically. Social media apps do not.

When an app requests "Always" access, try granting only "While Using" first. If features you care about break, you can change it later. Often the app works fine with more limited access.

The Reality of Location Privacy

Complete location privacy requires not carrying a smartphone, which isn't realistic for most people. Your cellular provider always knows your approximate location based on which towers your phone connects to. This data exists regardless of app permissions or settings.

The goal isn't perfect location privacy but reducing unnecessary tracking. Your cellular provider knowing your location for network purposes is different from dozens of apps building detailed movement profiles to sell to advertisers.

Focus on limiting app access, particularly for "Always" permissions. Disable location for apps that don't need it. Use approximate instead of precise location when possible. Remove location data from photos before sharing. These steps won't make you invisible but significantly reduce your location data exposure.