Whenever you install an app
you'll see a little of any permissions it requires – but who bothers
reading such things? The apps you install can request to access your
list of contacts, send messages on your behalf, and much more. But if
you're concerned about your privacy, you will want to keep an eye on
which apps are able to determine where you are.
It makes sense for some apps to track your location, but you may want to disable this feature in some instances./ © ANDROIDPIT
Your Moto X or Samsung Galaxy S4 could
easily share your location, and it's possible that you would rather
keep this information to yourself. There are, of course, some apps that
it makes sense to grant access to location information – navigation
tools, for instance – but there are plenty of the others that you might
like to wrestle control from.
There are two ways you can go about this: either using Android's
built-in settings, or by using a dedicated permission control app. The
method that is built into Android is slightly simplistic, but it gets
the job done.
The Android method
Head to Settings and then move to the More section. In the
Permissions section, tap the on/off toggle switch next to the Location
label – in the off position, your handset will stop collecting location
data. You can also change the method of location reporting that is used.
Tap the Location label and then tap Mode. You can then choose between
three different modes according to your preferences.
Your phone can use a variety of methods to determine your location. © ANDROIDPIT
If you scroll down through the Location section, you can see a list
of all of the apps that have requested information about your location.
There is no built in way to stop these apps from access this data, but
it is still handy to know; you may want to investigate the settings for
individual apps to see if there is a way to disable location tracking.
You can easily see which your installed apps are tracking your location. © ANDROIDPIT
As well as the apps you have installed, numerous Google service –
such as Google Now – can make use of your location. This is something
else you can control. Beneath the list of apps, tap Google Location
Reporting and you'll see a list of all of the accounts you have set up
on your handset.
In addition to apps, your location can also be tracked by various Google services. © ANDROIDPIT
For each account you can use the Location Reporting setting to enable
or disable access to your location data, while the Location History
section gives you the chance to wipe out data that has already been
recorded about you.
The AppOps method
While it is possible to disable location tracking in Android, it is something of an "all or nothing" approach. AppOps is
a free app that can be used to control location permission of
individual apps. There are several apps with similar names in Google
Play, so be sure to install the right one. Fire up the app and you'll
see a list of app that make use of location information.
AppOps lets you change the location-tracking permissions of individuals apps. © ANDROIDPIT
Tap the entry for any app in the list and you'll see a list of all of the permissions it uses.
A setting toggle is all it takes to stop a particular app recording your location. © ANDROIDPIT
You can then toggle the Location setting to prevent that app from
using location information. Repeat the process for as many apps as you
would like to lockdown.
Do location-tracking capabilities concern you, or are you happy to leave settings as they are?
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