What You Should Know About Controlling Your Geolocation Data

These days, GPS is one of the most helpful functions on a smartphone. You probably use a maps app on a regular basis, whether it’s to find a gas station, a restaurant, or just to get about town faster. It’s unfortunate, but having a lot of location data can cause privacy issues. Even if you turn off your GPS, apps can still track your whereabouts in other ways.  In this article, we’ll show you how to avoid some of the most typical location problems. 

Beyond GPS, what other methods does your phone use to obtain location data? We are curious and want to learn from you. Please leave a comment. 

The most obvious way your phone tracks location is through the use of GPS, but that’s far from the only method available. If you hop between public hotspots with your Wi-Fi on, you’re essentially leaving a breadcrumb trail. Every time you join a new network, you leave a trace that third parties can follow.

If you’re using a fitness tracker or other Bluetooth-enabled device, you’ll get location data as well. Bluetooth Low Energy beacons rely on data flow between the beginning point and your phone to locate you. This can be useful if you’ve lost your phone and need to find it, but it will also leave a trail of your movements about the house.

Alternatively, you can use the distance between two cell towers to determine your phone’s location via triangulation. It’s a technique you’ve undoubtedly seen on a lot of forensic shows, but it’s real. Officials can predict your location without the use of a GPS satellite by analysing the data you receive from two distinct towers and the time it takes.

Are there any restrictions on the rights you can give?

You’ve discovered that almost everything on your phone is trying to track you. What are your options? You could, of course, unplug your phone, throw away your batteries, and go off the grid to live in the woods. Instead, pay attention to the services you’re using and the rights you allow to certain apps.

To begin, set your phone to Airplane Mode anytime it’s not in use. This disables the cellular and Wi-Fi radios on your phone, limiting your options to what’s currently on your phone. It’s a good habit to get into, but keep in mind that you won’t be able to check text messages or social media while in this mode.

If you’re using Android or iOS, you’ll also want to check your Settings app. On iOS, tap Privacy; on Android, tap Location. You have the option of granting location services on a case-by-case basis or completely disabling them. Do games like Minecraft, for example, truly require access to your geographic location data?

Considering how eager Google is to have access to your location data, you may want to double-check your privacy settings. To delete Google’s data for all time or just the last few days or months, go to the My Activity page. There you may review your individual usage and delete them. It’s also a good idea to turn off the Automatically Sync Data option to save some data at least.