An Android phone can be of great help in different circumstances because of its exact location features and capabilities. However, people who are concerned about their privacy should know how to disable the option.
With location tracking enabled, smartphones may be used for a number of useful purposes. Among other things, this includes providing details about the conditions of weather, restaurants that surround you, good search results, and many more. All of these complement the use of Android smartphones, but it’s also at the expense of the owner’s privacy.
If you don’t like the thought of your whereabouts being tracked, you can disable it and protect your privacy. As directed by Google, open the Settings app and select the ‘Location’ shortcut. To turn off the feature, go to that page and click the toggle next to ‘Use location.’ All installed apps will be unable to use the phone’s location. This will cause the features of certain apps that rely on the user’s location to become useless. Other than that, there are a few options that users may want to turn off. Locate ‘Location Services’ on the same Location page as before. Now disable WiFi and Bluetooth scanning by tapping the toggle next to each.
The Android operating system by default takes advantage of surrounding Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices in order to “enhance location-based features and services.” What if you’re using an Android phone and these options aren’t available? Tap ‘Advanced’, then ‘Google Location Accuracy,’ and then ‘Improve Location Accuracy’ to turn it off.
Why disable location tracking if it makes specific apps less useful? Privacy means different things to different people. In order to have better or more useful features, some users are willing to sacrifice their location, however, not everyone is willing to do so.
Take, for example, this Business Insider’s article explains why some individuals are concerned about location tracking. In May 2021, the article detailed the lengths to which Google will go in order to track down Android users’ whereabouts. Google reportedly modified its location settings more difficult to discover to discourage users from disabling tracking. According to the study, “Google continued to collect location data even when users turned off various location-sharing settings,” and the company urged some Android manufacturers (like LG) to bury their configurations “because users like them,” the report states.
Not everyone is going to agree with this type of behaviour. As long as Google can’t keep an eye on them around the clock, they don’t mind breaking some app features here and there in order to do so. Not that Google is doing anything wrong or illegal with the location data it collects; rather, it is simply that the manner in which it collects it is not something everyone is comfortable with.
