Your smartphone is likely sharing your location far more than you realise. Most apps and system services request location access by default, and many of them run quietly in the background without any visible indication. Both iPhone and Android devices have built-in settings to limit this, but they are buried deep enough that most people never find them.
Here is a breakdown of the hidden toggles you should check right now, on both platforms, to take back control of your location data.
iPhone Settings That Share Your Location Without You Knowing
Apple’s own services are among the sneakiest offenders. To access them, go to Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Location Services, then System Services. Here you will find options like iPhone Analytics and Routing and Traffic, all of which are turned on by default and use your location silently.
The one worth paying the most attention to is Significant Locations. This feature builds a detailed history of where you live, work, and travel. To clear what has already been collected, tap on Significant Locations, hit “Clear History,” and then toggle it off.
Beyond system services, every individual app that has location access also has a “Precise Location” toggle. You can find it under Settings, Privacy and Security, Location Services, and then the app’s name. Turning this off means the app only gets a rough area of about 10 kilometres instead of your exact GPS position.
To stop apps from even asking to track you across other apps and websites for advertising, go to Settings, Privacy and Security, Tracking, and turn off “Allow Apps to Request to Track.”
One useful tip: keep an eye on the arrow icon in your status bar. A solid arrow means an app is actively using your location at that moment. A hollow arrow means it accessed your location recently.
Android Location Settings You Should Change Right Now
On Android, Google quietly builds a timeline of everywhere you go through a feature called Location History. You can find it under Settings, Google, Manage your Google Account, Data and Privacy, and then Location History. From there, you can pause it and delete the existing history. It is also accessible through myaccount.google.com/data-and-privacy.
What catches many people off guard is that Android also scans for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth networks even when both are switched off, and uses that data to figure out your location. To stop this, go to Settings, Location, and then Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning. Disable both toggles.
For individual apps, go to Settings, Privacy, Permission Manager, and then Location. This screen shows every app that has location access. Any app listed as “Allow all the time” should be changed to “Only while using the app” or “Ask every time.”
Here is something important that many people miss: turning off Location History alone is not enough to stop Google from tracking your location. You also need to pause Web and App Activity, which logs location-tagged searches and app usage. Go to myaccount.google.com, then Data and Privacy, then Web and App Activity, and pause it from there.
If you are on Android 12 or later, a green dot appears in the top-right corner of your screen whenever an app accesses your location, camera, or microphone. Swipe down the quick settings panel to see which specific app triggered it.
Why Checking Per-App Permissions Matters More Than the Master Toggle
Turning off the main location toggle gives a false sense of security. The more important habit is checking the per-app permission list regularly, because many apps quietly hold “Always on” background access that you may not remember granting.
The same logic applies to Google’s tracking setup. Location History and Web and App Activity are two separate settings, and both need to be addressed. Relying on just one is not enough.
A few minutes spent going through these settings can significantly reduce how much of your location data is being collected, stored, and potentially shared.
