Giving your phone and your apps access to your location undeniably makes them more useful. If your phone knows where you are, you can get map directions and weather updates, calculate travel times, or alert your friends and family to your location. But there’s a darker side to location tracking: apps often build shockingly detailed profiles of your daily movements and then monetize this data.
Turning off location services, or at least adjusting certain settings, is a crucial step in protecting your private data from third parties. Below, we’ll walk you through how to disable location services on Android, iOS and iPadOS, macOS, and Windows, how to delete and disable your Google Maps Timeline, and discuss why turning off location services alone isn’t enough to keep your location truly private.
- Why turn off location services?
- How to disable location services on Android
- How to disable location services on iOS and iPadOS
- How to disable location services on Windows
- How to disable location services on macOS
- How to delete and disable your Google Maps timeline, location history, and search history
- Why turning off location services isn’t enough
- FAQ on location services on location services
Why turn off location services?
There are plenty of reasons to turn off or adjust your location settings:
Privacy from advertizers
Your device knows where you live and work, when and where you shop, where your kids go to school, and which medical clinics you attend. The result of this tracking is an incredibly detailed profile of your every movement that is routinely sold to data brokers and adtech companies so that you can be targeted with ever more personalized ads.
Location data can even be used for surveillance pricing, where passing a store can trigger ads or where you live can affect the prices you see. All without you providing any meaningful consent.
Privacy from your government
In many countries, your location data can be accessed(หน้าต่างใหม่) by government agencies, often without a warrant. In the United States, law enforcement has been documented(หน้าต่างใหม่) purchasing location data from commercial brokers specifically to circumvent the legal requirements that would otherwise apply to surveillance.
Protection from abusers
Location sharing has become a tool for stalking and coercive control, used by abusive partners, stalkers, or unauthorized third parties to monitor victims in real time. Reviewing and restricting who can see your location and disabling background tracking can remove a critical layer of visibility that might otherwise be exploited.
Additional resources:
- Personal safety user guide for Apple devices(หน้าต่างใหม่)
- Digital safety for IPV survivors(หน้าต่างใหม่)
- National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) toolkits(หน้าต่างใหม่)
Battery life
If you have location services switched on, you may be experiencing a significant drain on battery life and unnecessary mobile data usage. In high-accuracy modes, your phone constantly pings GPS satellites, WiFi networks, and cell towers.
By limiting location access to essential apps only, and selecting “while using” instead of “always”, you can extend your battery life and reduce data usage without sacrificing core functionality.
How to disable location services on Android
This guide was created using a Samsung OneUI 8.5 phone. Details may differ slightly on other Android devices.
Turn off location services entirely
1. Open Settings on your Android device
2. Scroll down and tap Location (On some devices: Go to Privacy → Permission Manager → Location)
3. Tap the Location switch to turn it off.
Note: When location is turned off, apps and services can’t access your device’s location. However, you may still see local results and ads based on your IP address.
Disable location for specific apps
You can also manage how specific apps can access your location data. Either tap App permissions on the screen above, or:
1. Open Settings
2. Tap Apps or Apps & notifications
3. Select the app you want to modify
4. Tap Permissions
5. Tap Location
Choose one of the following options:
- Don’t allow: The app cannot access your location
- Ask every time: You’ll be prompted each time the app requests location
- Allow only while using the app: Location is accessed only when the app is open
- Allow all the time: The app can access location even in the background
You can also disable Use precise location from this screen.
Turn off Improve Location Accuracy
Location Accuracy (also called Google Location Services) helps your device get more precise location data by using WiFi, Bluetooth, and cell tower signals. Disabling it reduces precision, but doesn’t fully stop tracking.
1. Go to Settings → Location
2. Tap Location services → Location Accuracy
3. Toggle the Improve Location Accuracy switch off
Important: Even with Location Accuracy off, your device can still estimate location using GPS if allowed.
Manage WiFi and Bluetooth scanning
These features can reveal your location, even when standard location services are off:
1. Go to Settings → Location → Location services
2. Toggle both Wi‑Fi scanning and Bluetooth scanning switches off
How to disable location services on iOS and iPadOS
Turn off location services entirely
1. Open Settings
2. Tap Privacy & Security
3. Tap Location Services
4. Toggle Location Services switch off at the top of the screen
Important: Some apps may not function properly without location access. Turning this off will reset permissions for all apps until you manually grant access again.
Disable location for specific apps
1. Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services
2. Ensure Location Services is toggled on
3. Scroll to find the app you want to manage
4. Tap the app name
5. Select one of these options:
- Never: The app never receives location data
- Ask Next Time Or When I Share: Prompted each time; allows one-time choices
- While Using the App: Location is accessible only when the app is visible on-screen
Disable Precise Location
iOS 14 and later lets you share an approximate, rather than an exact, location:
1. Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services
2. Select the app you want to adjust
3. Toggle the Precise Location switch off
When Precise Location is disabled, the app knows your approximate area (typically within 10 miles), instead of your exact GPS coordinates.
Note: You won’t see this option if you’ve already set your location access to Never for that app.
Learn more about how to check your iPhone location history
How to disable location services on Windows 11
Turn off location services
1. Click Start → Settings
2. Go to Privacy & security → App permissions → Location
3. Toggle the Location services switch off
Note: If you’re not logged in as an administrator, you may not see this setting.
Disable location for specific apps
1. Click Start → Settings
2. Go to Privacy & security → App permissions → Location
3. Scroll to Choose which apps can access your precise location
4. Toggle individual app switches off to prevent access
Note: Only apps installed from the Microsoft Store appear here. Third-party desktop apps generally have unrestricted access unless you block them through other means.
Stop websites from accessing your location
Microsoft Edge
1. Open Microsoft Edge
2. Go to Settings → Site permissions → All permissions → → Location
3. Toggle the Ask before accessing switch off, or remove sites from the Allowed to see your location list
Other browsers handle location permissions similarly through their privacy settings.
How to disable location services on macOS
Turn off location services entirely
1. Click the Apple icon on the menu bar → System Settings
2. Go to Privacy & Security → Location Services
3. Toggle Location Services OFF at the top of the window
Some system services (such as Emergency SOS) may continue to use location regardless of this setting.
Disable location for specific apps
1. Click the Apple icon → System Settings
2. Go to Privacy & Security → Location Services
3. Ensure Location Services is on
4. Find the app in the list below.
5. Uncheck the box next to the app name to revoke permission.
Manage system services
Some macOS system services (such as Find My and Siri suggestions) use location separately from app-level permissions:
1. Click the Apple icon → System Settings
2. Go to Privacy & Security → Location Services
3. Click the Details… button next to System Services
4. Toggle individual services off as needed
Note: If Location Services is already disabled, these services will be disabled automatically.
How to delete and disable your Google Maps Timeline (previously known as Location History)
Google has recently overhauled how it handles your location data and will continue to do so over the next few months(หน้าต่างใหม่). Timeline information is now stored locally on your device rather than in your Google Account, the web-based Timeline viewer has been retired, and the settings you need are now managed primarily through the Google Maps app.
Menu labels vary by app version, region, and device, so you may see Timeline, Maps history, Your data in Maps, or similar wording. The steps below cover the actions you need to take, regardless of the exact label.
Turn off Timeline/Maps history
This stops Google from recording your future movements:
1. Open the Google Maps app on your phone
2. Tap your profile icon (top right)
3. Tap Your data in Maps or Settings → Privacy (the exact path varies by version)
4. Look for a setting labelled Timeline, Maps history, or Location History and toggle it off
Note: Google’s own documentation states that even when Timeline is turned off, “you may still have other location data saved in your Google Account” if settings like Web & App Activity or Search Services History remain enabled. To address this, follow the steps above, selecting Web & App Activity instead of Timeline, and update your Search Services History settings.
Delete your existing Timeline
Your Maps search history is separate from Timeline. It records the places you have searched for, not the places you have visited.
1. Open Google Maps → tap your profile icon
2. Tap Your Timeline or Your data in Maps → Timeline
3. Tap the three dots (⋮)
4. Select Delete day to delete today’s data OR
5. Select Location & privacy settings
6. Scroll to Timeline and choose:
- Delete all Timeline data
- Delete range of Timeline data
- Auto-delete Timeline data
Warning: Deleted Timeline data cannot be recovered. If you want to keep a record, export your Timeline data before deleting.
How to delete your Google Maps search history
Your Maps search history is separate from Timeline; it records the places you’ve looked up, not the places you’ve been. To delete your search history:
1. Open Google Maps → tap your profile icon
2. Tap Your data in Maps or go to Settings → Location and privacy
3. Select Maps history, tap Delete and choose:
- Delete today
- Delete custom range
- Delete all time
Why turning off location services isn’t enough
Disabling location services is an important step, but it leaves a significant gap. Even with GPS, WiFi, and Bluetooth location all switched off, apps and websites can still estimate your location using your IP address.
The only reliable way to prevent IP-based location tracking is to use a VPN. A VPN routes your internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a remote server, replacing your real IP address. This means websites and apps see the server’s location instead of yours, making IP-based geolocation ineffective.
Learn more about how a VPN works
FAQ on location services
Yes, you can search for places, view maps, and get directions with location services disabled. However the app won’t know your starting point, so it can’t automatically provide turn-by-turn navigation or real-time traffic updates. You’ll need to enter your current location manually first. Some features, like finding nearby restaurants or seeing your ETA, also won’t work without location access.
No, turning off location services prevents apps from using GPS, WiFi, and Bluetooth to determine your precise position, but it doesn’t stop IP-based location estimation or affect data that’s already been collected. Google notes that you can still receive location-based results and ads via your IP address. Additionally, if Web & App Activity (or Search Services History) remains enabled in your Google Account, Google may continue to store approximate location data as part of your broader activity. To minimize tracking, you need to disable location services, manage your account-level activity settings, and use a VPN.
n most cases, apps cannot access your precise GPS coordinates when location services are disabled. However, they can still infer your approximate location through:
Your IP address: Reveals your general area (city-level)
WiFi network names: Nearby networks can be cross-referenced with databases to estimate position
Cellular tower data: Available to any app with phone permissions on some platforms
Bluetooth beacons: Used in retail environments to detect proximity
Microsoft explicitly warns that third-party apps may bypass Windows Location services using these methods. On Android and iOS, the operating systems impose stricter controls, but IP-based location remains universally available to any app with internet acce
