How to stop Android apps accessing your location???

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?