How To Turn Off Droid Camera Tracking

Location tracking can be very handy — it's convenient when an app can tell you, say, where the nearby restaurants or gas stations are — but information technology'due south also a privacy issue. Do y'all want all your wanderings registered past Google? Are you comfy knowing that Marker Zuckerberg's minions know where you are at all times? (Well, non that Mark Zuckerberg has minions, simply y'all know what I hateful.)

In this commodity, we'll take a look at how to cease location tracking on your Android phone (and your Google business relationship) and how to delete your location history from your Os and from some of the more popular apps. As always, note that versions of Android can differ, and many manufacturers use overlays as well, which tin can change the locations of various commands — but they should be like plenty for yous to exist able to find your way. For these instructions, I've used a Pixel 6 telephone running Android 12, but I've included some directions for those with earlier versions of Android.

Cease Google from tracking yous, period.

You lot probably know that Google can track your location and movements through its Google Maps app. But you may not realize that your Android phone is also tracking your movements and activities through several other built-in apps.

If yous really don't want your phone to exist tracking whatsoever of your movements and activities, in that location is a way to turn tracking off for all (well, about) of them. You just need to exist aware that yous're probably going to render many of your apps (such as ride-share apps, weather apps, and, of class, mapping apps) less usable — or in some cases, completely unusable.

Cease Google tracking using a browser

Showtime, we're going to stop Google from saving your information.

• Go to https://myactivity.google.com/.
• Under "My Google Activeness" you'll see the buttons for three types of activity: Web & App Activeness, Location History, and YouTube History. You tin can visit each individually by selecting the appropriate push button.

Under "My Google Activity" you'll run into the buttons for three types of activity: Web & App Action, Location History, and YouTube History.

• A more than efficient way, though, may be to get to Activity Controls, found in the left-hand menu. This page will testify yous all 3 controls on the same page; in improver, you lot can control ad personalization.

Google'due south activity controls let y'all plow off tracking.

• "Web & App Activity" covers annihilation y'all've washed on Google apps and services. Yous can turn tracking off completely, or cull to keep it on but stop it from saving your history or activeness when you utilise your Chrome browser. You can also plough off "Include audio recordings," which determines if all your sound interactions with Google and / or Google Banana are saved.
• The other relevant category is, of course, "Location History," which saves data about where you've gone with your device. Also, look for "Devices on this account" and click the down icon to the right; you'll get a list of all the devices that yous have that are currently post-obit your location — since that may include old phones that you are no longer using, this is a adept thing to check.
• We might besides mention that you can too disable your "YouTube History," which includes both your search and sentry history, and "Ad personalization," which uses your history to choose which ads you'll see.

Okay — y'all've now prevented any more data from being gathered. Only you lot may want to delete all or some of the information that'southward already been collected.

• Go dorsum to the My Activity page and click on "Delete action by" in the left-hand menu.
• You lot'll get a pop-upwardly window that lets you delete your action based on time period: the last hour, last twenty-four hour period, "All time" (in other words, all dates), or "Custom range" for a specific date range.

A pop-up window lets you delete your action based on time period.

• If you choose "Custom range," you'll be able to cull a appointment range. If you choose "All time," yous can then filter that info depending on services (such as ads, Chrome, Google Play Shop, etc.). When yous're set, click on "Next."

You can filter your info depending on services.

• You'll then get a preview of some of the activities that volition be deleted. If y'all're okay with that, select "Delete."

The last step before you delete your activity.

Incidentally, if you want to make certain that nobody simply you can delete your histories, and so select the "Manage activity" link under each category in Action Controls, and await for "Manage My Activity verification." If you enable that feature, Google volition enquire for a password whatever time you desire to look at or delete any history in your account.

And if you don't want to worry about manually deleting your stuff, you can enable auto-delete in each category (yous'll see the option inside each category on the Action Controls page). Yous'll have the option to automatically delete your activity after either iii, 18, or 36 months.

Yous tin can at present auto-delete your location history.

Stop Google tracking on an Android device

• Go to Settings. In the search box on top, type in "Action controls" and tap it when it comes up.
• If you take more than one Google business relationship, select the one yous want to manage.
• Here, as with the browser version, you lot can turn off or pause the monitoring of diverse activities, including setting motorcar-delete and managing a timeline of your activity.

Turn location tracking on and off from the Quick Settings tray

If you want to be able to turn location tracking on or off as you need information technology, you can practice that, likewise. 1 fashion to accommodate this is to use the Quick Settings tray (which is what y'all see when you swipe downwards from the superlative of your screen). The tray holds a variety of icons for the well-nigh often-used Android features; there is a "Location" icon that lets you lot toggle the location feature on and off.

• Swipe down from the peak of the screen. If yous're using Android 12, you'll see a series of bubbling for things similar Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, flashlight, etc. If you're using Android 11 or earlier, it will exist a line of icons. Either way, that's your Quick Settings tray. Look for the Location icon (commonly, it looks like an upside-downward drop of water).
• Non there? With Android 12, swipe across to see more bubbles; otherwise, swipe downwardly.
• Withal missing? Look for a pencil icon; on a Pixel, it will be on the bottom of the tray, but some Android interfaces will have it on top. Tap on the pencil, and the bill of fare will open further. Y'all can now come across all the icons that are available. What yous want to practice is make sure the Location icon is in the easily visible part of the tray.
• If your Location icon is in the bottom section, hold and elevate information technology up to the visible grouping.

You'll now be able to quickly swipe down from the tiptop of your screen and toggle Location on and off — for instance, if you want to use Google Maps for directions, you can toggle Location on, and and so turn it back off when you lot're finished.

Stop location tracking on Android devices

If yous don't feel the need to cake Google from recording all your activities, and simply want to stop the phone from recording your location, it's piece of cake to do — as long as you pay attention to the details:

• Swipe down from the top of the screen so that you see your Quick Settings menu, and long-press on the Location icon — or swipe downwardly, tap the Settings icon, and choose "Location."
• You're now on the Location folio. Detect the "Utilise location" feature at the top and toggle it off.

You lot'd call up that would exist it, wouldn't you lot? Merely y'all'd exist incorrect. What is meant past "Utilise location" in Android depends on which sensors are following the location of the device: besides GPS, it could be Wi-Fi, mobile networks, or other sensors. And then before y'all leave this page, expect a niggling further downwards. If you lot're using Android 12, look for the "Location services" push button, otherwise, wait for the "Advanced" button and tap on that.

Either mode, you lot'll have several categories that yous can toggle on or off. These tin be (depending on your Android version and your phone's manufacturer):

• Google Emergency Location Service. This tells emergency services where you are if there'due south a problem; for example, if your car goes off the route and the ambulance needs to notice you. You tin can plow this off if you desire, just read the fine print: "If ELS is off, your mobile carrier may still send device location during an emergency call."
• Google Location Accuracy. This uses Wi-Fi and other services to assistance pinpoint your location. If you desire to plough off "Use location," you lot need to make certain this is turned off also. Any app that requires "precise location" (which I'll explain in a chip) needs this to be turned on.
• Google Location History. This leads you to a page where you can pause your device's collection of your location history. That doesn't become rid of what's already been saved; at that place are instructions for that a little later in this article.
• Google Location Sharing. If you're sharing your location with family members or friends, you tin manage it hither.
• Wi-Fi scanning. This lets apps and services scan for local Wi-Fi networks, fifty-fifty if you take Wi-Fi turned off.
• Bluetooth scanning. This lets apps and services search for Bluetooth devices even if Bluetooth is off. Both this and the Wi-Fi scanning are meant to improve location features.

If you can't run across these last two, go back to the Location page and look for a "Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning" link.

Disable location tracking for any specific app

You can find out which apps actually employ location tracking and just disable it for those that yous feel don't need it.

• Go to the Location page (past long-pressing the Location icon in your Quick Settings tray).
• Tap on "App permission" (or, if you're using Android 12, await for "App location permissions").
• You lot'll find here a listing of all your current apps that accept permission to access your location either all of the time or just while in use. Tap on any to change the permission to either permit all of the fourth dimension, allow merely while in use, ask every time, or deny. You can also decide whether the app will be allowed to use "precise location" — in other words, use more than than GPS to determine where you are. For that, "Google Location Accuracy," also found on the Location page.

Sometimes when y'all turn off permissions in the Android Settings, the app itself volition continually effort to become you to restore that permission. It's irritating, simply unless the app lets y'all say, "No, leave me lone," you lot will either accept to live with information technology or get a different app.

Delete your location history

While y'all tin can plow off location tracking from your Android telephone'southward settings, once a service has collected your location info, getting rid of that history takes a little work. If you desire to delete your location history, the get-go place you need to go is Google; afterwards that, apps that collect this data include Facebook and Twitter.

Delete your Google location history on Android

While you can delete location history collected for your Google timeline in the My Activity area (see above), you lot can besides get rid of information technology hands in Google Maps.

• Get to your Google Maps app.
• Tap on your contour icon in the upper left corner.
• Tap on "Your Timeline."
• Select the three dots in the upper right corner. Tap on "Settings and Privacy."
• Scroll down to "Delete all Location History." You'll get a pop-upwards window that asks y'all to bank check a box maxim that you empathize that some of your apps may not work properly. Cheque the box and select "Delete."
• You as well have the option of deleting your location history inside a date range or setting the app to automatically delete your location history subsequently 3, eighteen, or 36 months.

Delete your Google location history on a browser

• Go to https://www.google.com/maps.
• Tap on the three parallel lines in the upper left corner of the side panel. (If you lot don't see the panel, expect for the small arrow in the upper left corner and click on it.) Select "Your timeline."
• Look for the gear icon on the lower right side of the screen. Click on it, and so on "Delete all Location History." Y'all can also set up the automatic deletion feature here.

Wait for the gear in your Timeline to delete your location history.

• Equally with the mobile app, you'll get a popular-upwards window that asks y'all to cheque a box proverb that you understand that some of your apps may not work properly. Check the box and select "Delete Location History."

You'll be asked to confirm the history deletion.

Delete your location history on Facebook

Facebook does keep a separate history of your locations, and if you want to delete that history, you can practice it through the mobile app or the browser.

Using the Android app

• In the Facebook app, tap the hamburger (three parallel lines) in the top right corner.
• Coil down and tap on "Settings & Privacy."
• Tap on "Settings."
• Scroll down and tap on "Location" (which is under the "Permissions" subhead). This will take you to the "Location Services" page.
• You lot can now choose to let Facebook access your telephone's location all the time, while using the app, or never.
• If you want to permit Facebook to save a history of your locations (or stop it from doing and so), tap on "Location History" to toggle it on or off. It's here that you can also delete your existing location history.

Using a browser

• In Facebook, click on the pocket-size arrow next to the Notifications icon in the upper correct corner. Click on "Settings & Privacy" > "Privacy Shortcuts."
• Click on "Manage your location settings."

Select "Manage your location settings" under the "Privacy" category.

• On the "Location Settings" folio, click on the "View your Location History" button.

The "Location Settings" page lets you view your history, delete it, and stop recording information technology.

• Then click on the gear in the upper left corner. As with the mobile app, y'all can now either delete that specific day or delete your entire location history.

You tin delete that mean solar day's history or all your history.

• On the "Location Settings" folio, you can also turn your location history on or off for your mobile devices.

Delete your location history on Twitter

Twitter makes it relatively simple to turn off its location tracking inside the Android app.

• Tap on your personal icon in the upper left of the homescreen.
• Tap on "Settings and privacy."
• Tap on "Privacy and safety."
• Scroll down until you see "Location information" and tap on information technology. You can then toggle off the boxes that give Twitter permission to collect your GPS and other location information. And don't forget to tap on "Explore settings," which gives Twitter the option to show nearby content.

You can delete your Twitter location history as well, only but from your browser.

• Go to your Twitter account, click on "More" in the left cavalcade and on "Settings and privacy."
• In the left-manus menu, click on "Privacy and safety." Scroll down and select "Location data."

• Uncheck "Personalize based on places y'all've been." And then click on "Add location information to your Tweets."

Uncheck "Add together location information to your Tweets." Then click on "Delete all location information." And if it asks: yep, you are certain.

Update August 25th, 2020, 2:37PM ET: This article was originally published on April 12th, 2019; it has been updated to include the update from Android 9 to Android 10, forth with changes to various web-based applications.

Update November 30th, 2021, 3:55PM ET: Updated to reflect changes in the Android operating system and in Google, Facebook, and Twitter apps.

Source: https://www.theverge.com/21401280/android-101-location-tracking-history-stop-how-to

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