How to stop Android apps from accessing your location

How to stop Android apps from accessing your location

Whenever you install an app, you'll see a list of the permissions that it requires. People often don't bother reading this, but the apps you install can request access to your contacts, messages and even your location, among other things. If you're concerned about your privacy, you should be aware of which apps can keep track of where you are. Read on to find out how to stop apps from accessing your location.

It's totally reasonable that you would rather keep information about your location to yourself. On the other hand, it makes sense to grant some apps access to it - navigation tools, for instance, but there are plenty of the others that you might want to forbid from accessing this information.

There are two ways you can go about this: either by using Android's built-in settings or using a dedicated permission control app.
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For Android 9.0


For all applications


For individual apps

For Android 6.0 to 8.0


For all applications


For individual apps

For Android 4.3 - 5.1


For all applications


For individual apps
For Android 9.0 Pie
For all applications

In Android Pie, things have changed a little in terms of the options you have to tweak the location accuracy. The Mode options (see below) has been removed and location accuracy is now a binary on/off option. On, means that WiFi+, mobile networks, and GPS are used in conjunction with GPS. This is similar to what used to be called High accuracy. Off mean you'll only be using GPS to track your location. This setting was previously called Device only.

Location settings are a bit different on Android Pie, but still easy to understand. / © AndroidPIT
For individual applications

The way you toggle which individual apps have permission to track your location works in much the same way on Android 9 Pie as it did on Oreo. Simply head over to your main Settings menu and find the bit that's dedicated to app permissions. From there, hit Locationand you can toggle the tabs to allow or deny each app the access to your location data. Simple! You can also change permission for other things, such as which apps can use your camera.

App permissions are the same on Pie as they were on Oreo. / © AndroidPIT
For Android 6.0 and up (Marshmallow to Oreo)
For all applications

In the general section of your smartphone's Settings menu, you will find the Location settings option. Just tap the toggle switch at the top to activate or deactivate as you wish. You should be mindful of the fact that this option will disable every app's ability to see your location, even ones you might want to use GPS for, like Google Maps. If that's a problem for you, check out the next option.

Your general Settings menu and Location options will look similar. / © AndroidPIT

You could also change the Location mode to one of three options, to customize things even further:


High accuracy uses all of the options, which include GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and mobile networks.


Battery saving uses Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and mobile networks, but not GPS.


Device only uses only GPS, not Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or mobile networks.

Ensure 'High accuracy' mode is toggled on for a good signal. / © AndroidPIT
For individual applications

Go to Settings>Apps>Configure apps or App settings, then App permissions. Then you will see a list of sensitive features of your phone (like the microphone, camera or your contacts list). Here you can select which apps have access to each, including Your location.

Here, you can easily see which apps have permission and which do not. / © AndroidPIT

Tap Your location to select which apps you want to have permission to access your device's physical location. For apps like Google Maps or the Google App, it might be helpful to give them permission to access your location for convenience. But other apps might not be from a trusted source, or they may not even need your location. In that case, turn off location permission for these apps.
For Android 4.3 - 5.1
For all applications

Just like in newer versions of Android, you can change the Location settings for all applications with a single toggle switch. Head to Settings > More > Permission and tap the on/off toggle switch next to Location. When the switch is in the off position, your handset will stop collecting location data.

You can also change the method of location reporting that is used. Tap Location > Mode. You can then choose between three different modes according to your preferences (as shown in the image below).

Your phone can use a variety of methods to determine your location. / © AndroidPIT

If you scroll down through Location, you can see a list of all of the apps that have requested information about your location (see image below). You can then investigate the settings for individual apps to see if there is a way to disable location tracking.

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Once your phone gets an update to Android Marshmallow or above you will have greater control over individual app permissions through the system settings.


Will your device get Android Oreo? Check out our list of scheduled updates.

You can easily see which your installed apps are tracking your location. / © AndroidPIT

As well as the apps you have installed, numerous Google services – 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 allow or deny access to your location data, while the Location History section gives you the chance to wipe out data that has already been recorded.
For individual applications

While it is possible to disable location tracking on these older versions of Android, it is an all-or-nothing approach. However, there are apps which can help you control individual location permissions on older devices. We recommend checking out GOTCHYA: Privacy Management. It is compatible with Android versions 4.1 and up and allows you to manage permissions seamlessly from one convenient app.

GOTCHYA has a clean and easy to use interface. / © AndroidPIT

Just open the application, tap the location icon in the middle and you will see a list of the apps that currently have location permissions. Found an app that you don't want to give access to? Swipe left and tap on Turn off. You will then be taken to the Settings where you can revoke the location permission.

GOTCHYA: Privacy Management

Do location tracking capabilities concern you, or are you happy to leave settings as they are? Have your say in the comments. Sponsor ads:

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