If a shopping app knows you were at the mall yesterday, or a game knows your home address, that is not a mystery. It is a location permission you granted once, probably in a hurry, and never reviewed. The good news is that you do not need a special privacy app to fix it: every iPhone and Android phone already has the switches, and a ten-minute audit of your app list removes most of the tracking in one pass.
What "location tracking" actually covers
Location on your phone is not one switch. It is three layers, and each one needs its own decision. First, app permissions decide which apps may ask for your position at all. Second, system services and accuracy settings decide how precisely your phone works your position out, using GPS, Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth and mobile signals. Third, account-level history is the record your account may already hold of where you have been, which is separate from the switches on the phone itself.
That distinction matters because turning off a permission stops future access, but it does not erase anything an app already collected, and it does not stop a website from estimating a rough area from your internet connection. A permission audit is still the single most effective step, because it cuts off the apps that were quietly reading your position in the background. The rest of this guide deals with the extras honestly, instead of pretending one toggle makes you invisible.
Turn off location for one app on iPhone
Apple puts every app's choice on one screen, which makes the audit fast. Work through the list from the top and change anything you do not recognise or no longer trust.
- Open Settings, then tap Privacy & Security.
- Tap Location Services. You will see every app that has asked for your location, with its current setting beside it.
- Tap an app, then choose Never to stop it using your location entirely.
- If the app genuinely needs a location sometimes, choose While Using the App instead, so it cannot follow you in the background.
- On the same screen, turn off Precise Location if the app only needs your general area, such as a weather or shopping app. With it off, the app gets an approximate location, not your exact spot.
The other choices on that screen are worth knowing. Ask Next Time Or When I Share makes the phone ask you again the next time the app wants your location, which is useful for an app you are unsure about. Always lets the app use your location even when you are not using it, and should be reserved for apps where background location is the whole point, such as a family locator you chose yourself. If an app's entry says it has never used your location, leave it alone until it asks.
Turn off location for one app on Pixel and Samsung
Android organises the same choices under Location, and the paths are nearly identical on Pixel and Samsung phones. Menu labels can vary slightly by model and software version, so use the search box in Settings if a label looks different.
- Open Settings, then tap Location.
- Tap App location permissions (on Samsung this is called App permissions).
- You will see apps grouped by their current access: allowed all the time, allowed only while in use, and not allowed.
- Tap an app, then choose Don't allow to stop it using your location entirely. On Samsung the same choice is called Deny.
- If the app needs a location while you use it, choose Allow only while using the app instead, so it cannot track you in the background.
On most Android phones, the app's permission screen also has a Use precise location switch. Turn it off for apps that only need your area, such as weather or local news, and the app gets an approximate location instead of your exact position. Maps, navigation and ride-hailing apps genuinely need precise location, so leave those alone unless you are willing to lose turn-by-turn directions in that app.
The other choices behave exactly as their names suggest. Allow all the time lets the app read your location even when closed, and deserves the same suspicion as Always on iPhone. Ask every time, where your phone offers it, makes the app request permission on each use, which is a good holding position for an app you are still deciding about.
Turn off location for everything
If you want no app to know where you are at all, there is a master switch on both platforms. It is the fastest option, but it has the biggest side effects, so use it knowingly rather than as a first resort.
On iPhone, go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services, and turn Location Services off. Apple warns that many important features stop working if you do this, and that warning is accurate: Maps cannot show where you are, location-based weather and reminders stop, photos lose location tags, and sharing your location in Find My stops too.
On Pixel and Samsung, go to Settings, then Location, and turn the Location (or Use location) switch at the top off. Samsung also offers the same switch as a Location tile in the Quick Settings panel, reached by swiping down from the top of the screen. With it off, no app can read your position even if it still holds a location permission, so the master switch overrides every per-app choice.
The per-app route is better for most people precisely because it avoids this trade-off. Keep the master switch on, set the apps you distrust to Never or Don't allow, and you keep Maps, Find My and emergency features working while the trackers lose access. Turn the master switch off only when you want everything dark at once, such as on a trip where you need no location features at all, and remember to switch it back on afterwards.
The middle ground most people should choose
Most readers do not need everything on or everything off. The table below matches the goal to the setting, so you can pick once and stop second-guessing.
| What you want | Setting to choose | What you give up |
|---|---|---|
| No app tracks you in the background | Set background apps to While Using the App (iPhone) or Allow only while using the app (Android) | Background location features in those apps, such as arrival reminders |
| One or two apps stop knowing where you are | That app set to Never (iPhone) or Don't allow / Deny (Android) | Only that app's location features |
| An app knows your area, not your exact spot | Turn off Precise Location (iPhone) or Use precise location (Android) for that app | Exact-position features in that app, such as turn-by-turn directions |
| Nothing uses your location at all | Master Location Services / Location switch off | Maps, Find My, location weather, photo geotags and location reminders |
| Location works, but less precisely overall | Turn off the accuracy extras in the next section | Slightly slower or less precise positioning indoors |
Stop the extras: system services and accuracy settings
Even with per-app permissions fixed, two extra layers refine how precisely your phone places you. Turning them down does not change which apps have permission, but it makes the position those apps receive less exact, especially indoors.
On iPhone, go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services, then System Services. Several system services use your location, including location-based suggestions and location-based ads. Turn off the ones you do not want, and use the same screen to decide whether the location arrow appears in the status bar when a system service uses your location, so you can see it happening.
On Pixel and most stock Android phones, go to Settings, then Location, then Location services, then Google Location Accuracy, and turn off Improve Location Accuracy. With it off, your phone relies on GPS and its own sensors rather than also using nearby Wi-Fi networks, mobile networks and sensors to refine the estimate, so positioning may be slower and less precise indoors. On Samsung, the equivalent is Settings, then Location, then Improve accuracy, where you can turn off Wi-Fi scanning and Bluetooth scanning. Samsung notes that enabling those scans improves precision but may slightly increase battery use, which is the same trade-off in reverse.
What turning it off does not stop
An honest guide has to say where the switches end. Turning off location permissions does not delete location history your account already saved, and that history is managed in your account's activity controls, not in the phone's location switch. It does not remove location tags from photos you already took and shared, and it does not stop a website or service from estimating a rough area from your internet connection. Your mobile network also knows roughly where your phone is in order to serve it, and no setting on the phone changes that.
None of this makes the audit pointless. The apps on your phone were the largest and most continuous source of location data, and the permission changes above cut that source off from today onwards. Think of it as closing the taps rather than draining the tank: what was already collected stays where it is unless you deal with it separately, but nothing new flows.
If an app still knows where you are
First, check the permission again. The most common cause is that the app is set to While Using the App and you are, in fact, using it when it shows your location. That is the setting working as intended, and the fix is Never if you want it to stop even while open.
Second, check the precise switch. An app with approximate location can still show your town or neighbourhood, which can look like tracking when it is actually the coarse location you allowed. Turn off Precise Location or Use precise location for that app if you want it coarser still, or set it to Never if any location is too much.
Third, check whether you told the app yourself. A delivery address, a postcode you typed in, or a saved home location in the app's own settings will keep producing local results after the permission is off, because the app is using what you entered, not your phone's position. Clear saved addresses inside the app if that is what is bothering you.
Fourth, check the master switch. If you turned Location off entirely and an app still shows your position, it is almost certainly using a saved address, a previous result, or your internet connection's rough area, not live GPS. Restart the app and check again before concluding the switch failed, since some apps cache their last known position.
Finally, remember that changing a permission does not rewrite the past. Photos, posts and check-ins that already carry a location will keep carrying it. The permission stops new collection; removing old location data is a separate job inside each app or account.
FAQ
Does turning off location tracking stop all tracking on my phone?
No. It stops apps from reading your phone's position through location permissions, which is the main source of continuous tracking. It does not stop a website estimating a rough area from your internet connection, your network knowing your approximate area, or an app using an address you typed in yourself.
Will turning off location break Maps or Find My?
Only if you turn off the master switch or deny those apps specifically. The recommended setup keeps the master switch on, leaves Maps and Find My with the access they need, and denies location to the apps you distrust. Maps needs precise location for directions, so keep that permission if you navigate with it.
Should I choose Never or While Using the App?
Choose Never for apps with no genuine need to know where you are, such as most games, shopping apps and social apps. Choose While Using the App (or Allow only while using the app) for apps that need a location while you use them, such as a delivery or weather app, but have no reason to follow you after you close them.
Does turning off Precise Location hide my exact address?
From the location system, yes: the app receives only an approximate location, which may be enough for local weather or nearby results but not for turn-by-turn directions or an exact pin. It does not hide an address you typed into the app yourself, and it does not change anything already saved in the app.
Why does an app ask for Always or Allow all the time?
Some apps genuinely need background location, such as a family locator or a run tracker that records a route while the screen is off. Most apps that ask for it do not. If the app's core feature works while you use it, While Using the App is the right answer, and you can change it later from the same screen if something stops working.
Does turning location off save battery?
It can help a little, since the phone does less positioning work, but location is rarely the main battery drain on a modern phone, and this guide does not present it as a battery fix. Turn location off for privacy, and judge battery claims separately. If battery life is the goal, screen brightness and background refresh matter more.
Sources and further reading
The iPhone steps, the Never, While Using the App, Ask Next Time Or When I Share and Always choices, the Precise Location toggle, and the System Services screen are set out in Apple's guide to controlling the location information you share on iPhone. The Pixel and stock Android steps, the Allow all the time, Allow only while using the app, Ask every time and Don't allow choices, and the Google Location Accuracy setting are set out in Google's guide to managing location settings. Samsung's master Location switch, the App permissions screen with Allow only while using the app, Allow all the time and Deny, and the Improve accuracy Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning switches are set out in Samsung's guide to location services and app location permissions.