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fans-android.com › Android

March 04, 2021

Author: Maxim

You can disable geolocation on an Android phone or tablet completely for the entire system and installed software, as well as for individual applications.

Although the function is very useful and quite important, it can greatly help in the operation or loss of the device. Still, sometimes you have to turn it off.

From the previous material you learned how to enable geolocation on Android. Today we will look at how to do the opposite, we will look at how to disable the location function on an Android phone or tablet.

Interesting! Depending on what brand your device is: Samsung, Xiaomi, Honor, Huawei or any other. The names of the items and their locations may differ slightly. And the actions will be exactly the same.

• 1 How to disable geolocation on Android - completely
• 2 Disable geolocation on Android for individual applications
• 3 Additional block 3.1 In conclusion

How to disable geolocation on Android - completely

1. Open your device settings and go to the “Security & Location” section, also called Biometrics & Security.” And in the “Privacy” block, go to the “Location / Location” section.

2. Simply disable this function and neither the system nor any program or game on your phone will have access to your GPS coordinates.

Interesting! On some device models, you can get to this menu by sliding the top curtain and holding the “Location” icon for a couple of seconds.

Delete "important places" of your iPhone or iPad

Finally, go back to the main location services screen and scroll down to “System Services” at the very bottom of the list of apps. Pull it up and you'll see a large list of features that can access your location (if you allow them). To remove locations that you regularly visit (enough that your device considers them important), tap the Significant Places option, then the location, and then Edit to remove it. You can also clear your entire Significant Places history using the option at the bottom of the screen.

And finally. Why you shouldn't cut off all connections on your device.

First, all data is encrypted and stored locally on your device - Apple has no access to it. At least that's the official security explanation.

Likewise, Apple does not collect your location data, associate it with your account, or store it anywhere on its servers. You can check this yourself by requesting a copy of all the data Apple has collected about you, or you can also read Apple's various statements about location and privacy.

Disabling geolocation on Android for individual applications

1. In the same section, leave the location feature turned on and open the “App Permissions” section.

2. Set the switch for those you need to off, and for those that need geolocation, set it to on.

Interesting! This is the best option, since some programs cannot work normally without geolocation enabled or constantly ask you to indicate where you are when they start.

To delete saved location history in Android:

1. Visit Google's Activity Tracking controls (where you can also turn off location history tracking at the account level).

2. In Google Maps Timeline, you can edit your location history and delete all or just part of it.

"Important! It will be impossible to recover deleted data,” Google warns.

Block optional

Google geolocation - will more accurately determine your location through the use of mobile and Wi-Fi networks and sensors installed on the phone

Location history - marks the places you have been on Google Maps. You can disable or enable this feature, and you can also clear this history there if you wish.

Location determination in emergency situations - uses the ELS function, which does not currently work in Russia. You can safely turn it off.

Show where I am - allows you to send your coordinates to selected users. This way they can always see where you are. In some cases, a quite useful option.

If you wish, you can also disable these tools. By clicking on any of these items, you can read detailed information about their purpose.

Finally

Still, you shouldn’t completely disable the location. The function may be needed at any time, and will greatly help if you lose your phone while searching for it.

tell friends

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Setting up for surveillance

You can use geolocation not only to build a route. This function is suitable for setting up surveillance of the necessary person. There are quite a few reasons to use it, most often it is necessary for parents who want to know where their child is.

Important! The easiest way to activate such a function is to add a user to your Google account when activating the “Transfer of geodata” function (described above). As a result, all users will have access to the necessary information.

In addition, to spy on a person, you can use a variety of third-party applications that are installed on the device. The most famous and popular:

• GPS tracker Family Locator. The application allows you to track a person's position, but only with his permission. It is important that the GPS tracker works; without it, the program will not function. You can download the application completely free of charge; you need to install it on several mobile devices and obtain permission from all users;
• Lost Android. You can download the program from the official application store. Using geolocation, you can always find out where your device is. Registration on the creator's website will be required, after which the necessary access will be provided. The only negative is that the program is not Russified, all information is only in English;
• "Where are my children?" An excellent application for parents that allows you to monitor not only the location, but also the condition of the phone. If the battery runs out, the adult receives information about this. In addition to surveillance, it is possible to wiretap, set moving locations, and save routes. The application will turn on automatically.

There are other applications that allow you to spy on the owner of a smartphone.

How to connect

To activate the option, subscribers will need to use one of two methods:

1. Use sending a ussd request to the operator. To do this, write *140# on your phone and make a call. After this, the option is activated and a menu for using the service will open.
2. You can send a text message to activate the service. Type “REG” in the body of the email. The sending number is simple 1400 and is free.
3. You can also connect in your MegaFon personal account.

PC

You can also clear your browsing history on your computer. Open Google Maps and sign in to your account. Select Menu and then Timeline . Here you can see all the places you've been while Google Maps was tracking your location.

You can only delete one day by selecting it in the top left corner and clicking on the trash can icon.

To delete all location history, go to Timeline , click on the gear icon on the right side of the screen and select Delete all location history .

Just like on mobile, a pop-up window will ask you if you really want to do this. Check the box next to Yes, delete all location history , and then click Delete location history .

Source: PCMag

User reviews about the application

In general, before using Yandex.Navigator on a smartphone, it is wise to analyze reviews of the application from Internet users. It is possible that some operating features will make it impossible to use the program for a specific person.

According to users, Yandex.Navigator has both advantages and disadvantages. Let's list them.

• free of charge;
• fairly wide possibilities of use;
• excellent speed of operation of the navigation program;
• freely distributed detailed maps with excellent information content;
• more accurate positioning using the Wi-Fi module and cell tower signals;
• online traffic jam warning service;
• stability of the program.

• the application is only relevant for use in neighboring countries;
• Without a constant connection to the Internet, the Internet does not fully function, you can only view previously downloaded maps, but you cannot set a route or get information about traffic jams;
• sometimes incorrect information about the distance to the object is given;
• glitches that occur when working with the program (this drawback is subjective, taking into account the ratio of the number of downloaded copies of the application to the number of negative reviews on the network).

Windows computers

In Windows 10, the feature in question is enabled by default. The manufacturer’s goal is the same as in other cases – collecting information about the user.

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The system tracks where he was, what he did, asks for feedback, and so on.

In principle, there is nothing wrong with this, but some users decide to disable this function - either to save battery power, or because they are afraid of surveillance by “big brother”.

Be that as it may, this service can be disabled and this is done as follows:

1Go to the Start and open Settings . If your interface is in English, then the settings will be called “Settings” .2 Go to the “Confidentiality” or “Privacy” . A new window will open in which you will need to go to the “Location” or “Location” section.3 There you can turn off this function for specific applications or for the entire OS. To do this, there is a list of programs and a slider next to each of them, as well as another slider under the inscription “Location” or “Location” . They can be set to the “On” or “Off” .

Rice. No. 5. "Location" with a list of applications and a button to disable the function for the entire OS

Important! It is extremely important to do all this from an account that has administrator rights. Please note that even if you work from the same account all the time, this does not mean that you are an administrator.

You can learn more about obtaining administrator rights in the video below.

As you can see, everything is done quite simply, but in different versions of Windows the shutdown process may look different.

Figure 5 shows disabling geolocation on the “ten”. On Windows 8 it looks exactly the same.

But as for Windows 7, location is possible there only if the computer has the necessary sensor.

Accordingly, in order to disable the service in question, it is necessary to disable this very sensor. This is done as follows:

• Open the Start and type "sensor" into the search bar. It will be easiest this way.
• The list above will show all the programs and services associated with that word. Select "Enable location sensor and other sensors" . In principle, you could initially enter a query to search for a given service rather than typing in the word “sensor.”
• If there are no sensors in the system, the list will be empty. And if there is, next to each one on the right there will be (or not) a check mark, which indicates that this sensor is working. Actually, you only need to uncheck the box next to the geolocation sensor.

Rice. No. 6. List of sensors in Windows 7

It is worth saying that not every ordinary user can determine which sensor does what by name.

Therefore, you will have to look on the Internet for its functionality by the name of the sensor. Most often, the official website has all the necessary information.

To check if the location feature is working in Windows 7, you need to search for "sensor" Start the View Location Actions . Again, you can immediately enter the name of this service into the search bar.

In the open window, you need to look at the section “Location Actions” . If there are 0 events there, then the position is not determined and is not sent to the corporation.

Accordingly, if there is something, you can view the list of actions.

Rice. No. 7. Window for viewing events by geolocation

There is no such service in Ubuntu, since the manufacturer does not need data about where users are and what they are doing. So there is no way to disable it there.

Method 1: For individual sites

The easiest way to solve this problem is when you first visit a site that requests access to location determination. To do this, just click on the “Block” button in the window with the corresponding question.

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If a notification similar to the one shown above does not appear, it means that the web resource has already been granted access to geolocation or the ability to request such has been disabled for the web browser as a whole. You can deny access to this data in the Yandex web browser settings.

1. Using the main menu of the program, go to its “Settings”.
2. Next, on the sidebar, click on the “Sites” tab.
3. Scroll down this block and click on the “Advanced site settings” link.
4. Find the “Location Access” block and follow the “Site Settings” link in it.
5. In the “Allow” tab, find the address of the site for which you want to block access to the location.
   Hover your cursor over it and click on the only available option - “Delete”. If necessary, repeat the same action with other sites. Having finished with the settings, go again to the web resource to which you do not want to provide access to the geolocation. This time, a notification with a request will definitely appear, and you will need to click “Block” in it.

If you return to the Yandex Browser settings section, which we came to at the beginning of the current paragraph (No. 5) of this part of the article, and go there to the “Forbidden” tab, you will see the added address there. This will also include other websites that you block from accessing geolocation data.

Method 2: For all sites

From the previous part of the article, you can understand how to block access to a location for all sites visited through Yandex.Browser. And yet, there are several nuances in this procedure that deserve attention.

1. Repeat steps No. 1-3 of the previous method.
2. Next, in the “Location Access” block, select one of two options:
   • "Forbidden";

   "Request permission."

The first one does not even block the site’s access to the geolocation, but the request for it, that is, the notification simply does not appear, and the corresponding data will not be transmitted to the site. The second allows you to resolve the issue after the fact - on your first visit, the site requests access, and you determine whether to “Allow” it or “Block”. This is exactly what we considered at the beginning of the first method.

3. As in the previous case, clicking on the “Site Settings” link allows you to see which of them are allowed access to geolocation data and which are denied.

If necessary, you can delete addresses both from the first list and from the second - just hover the cursor over them and click on the corresponding item.

Google Chrome

This feature is available in Chrome's privacy settings. Go to the browser menu and click on settings. Go down and click on the “Show advanced settings” link.

Next to the “Personal Data” item, click the “Content Settings” .

Scroll to the Location section and select Stop sites from tracking my location .

In addition, you can block notifications, microphone and camera access. Everything is in the same window.

Mozilla Firefox

Open the browser and enter the following command in the address bar: about:config . Hidden features of the browser open up, changing which is undesirable, but in this case nothing bad will happen. In the window that opens, click the “I accept the risk” .

In the search, enter the phrase geo.enabled . The result appears. Double-click on it so that it changes to the “false” . After this, restart the browser.

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Microsoft Edge

Location settings are not available in the browser itself, but since the browser is linked to the OS, you can configure everything in the operating system Settings. Press the Win+I . Go to the “Confidentiality” section. On the left, select the “Location” . Disable for all applications.

Yandex browser

In Yandex Browser, as in all other browsers, such requests are disabled through the settings. You can enter them through the icon of three stripes in the upper right corner of Yandex Browser, and select “Settings” in the drop-down menu.
1. In the settings you need to go to the “Sites” item and click on “Advanced site settings”.
2. We look for the item “Access to location” and set the value to “Prohibited”.

Opera

1. Requests for permission to obtain geolocation in Opera can be disabled with a few simple steps through the settings. Open the browser settings panel, and at the very bottom click on “Go to browser settings”.
2. At the very bottom we find the “Advanced” button, click on it.
3. In the list of additional settings that opens, you need to open the “Content Settings” item.
4. We look for the “Location” item and go to it.
5. We turn off location requests by simply turning off the “Ask permission to access (recommended)” option.

Internet Explorer

Go to “Settings” and in this tab select “Internet Options” .

A window opens in which we go to the “Privacy” tab and check the box next to “Never allow websites to request your location .

Apple Safari

Go to Safari, and then to “Settings”. Go to the “Privacy” section.

To disable location on sites, select “Deny without prompting”.

That's all I wanted to show. If you want to disable some other functions, then dig into the browser settings yourself and you will find everything. There is nothing complicated there.

System requirements

Before using Yandex.Navigator on your phone, you need to find out if the device meets the minimum system requirements. They are quite democratic. For comfortable operation of the navigation application, it is enough to use a mobile device with the following parameters:

1. Processor with a clock frequency of 1000 MHz.
2. Display with a diagonal of 4 inches (smaller is possible, but it will be difficult to see anything).
3. Availability of Wi-Fi and GPS modules.
4. Operating system – Andro >

In order to install Yandex.Navigator on a smartphone, you need to perform the following list of manipulations:

1. Launch the Google Play Market application store.
2. Write the name of the program in the search bar (in our case, it is “Yandex.Navigator”).
3. Click the magnifying glass icon.
4. Tap on the “Install” button.
5. Confirm permissions for the navigation program.
6. Wait for the installation process to complete.

To start working with the installed Yandex.Navigator application, you need to go to the home screen of the Android system, find the required icon and tap on it to launch the program.

What kind of location tracking does Android do?

The first time you set up your Android device, you'll be asked if you want to share your location data. If you answer yes, Google will automatically add your movements to your location history, which you can view in the Timeline section of your Google Account.

According to Google, location history "helps you get actionable information" such as automatic travel directions or improved search results by creating a personalized map that your registered devices are linked to.