Settings You Need To Change To Stop Your Android From Tracking You

One of the top ways your Android phone can track you is by following your location. When you’re signed in to your Google account and have Location History turned on, Google can keep tabs on every place you visit (via Google). This can be beneficial in some ways as it can provide you with personalized maps, give you real-time traffic updates, and help you find your phone.

However, if you don’t want the tech giant following you everywhere you go, you can opt to turn Location History off. Here’s how to do it:

1. Launch your Settings app.
2. Open Google.
3. Tap on “Manage your Google Account.”
4. Go to the “Date & privacy” tab.
5. Under History settings, select Location History.
6. Tap the “Turn off” button.
7. In the dialog box, tap on Pause.

You can also choose to delete your Location History. However, you can only delete data older than three, 18, or 36 months. Here’s what you need to do to set up automatic deletion (via Google):

1. Open your Google Maps app.
2. Tap your profile icon.
3. Select Your Timeline.
4. At the top-right corner of the screen, tap on the More icon (three vertical dots).
5. Select “Settings and privacy” from the menu.
6. Under “Location settings,” choose “Automatically delete Location History.”
7. Select “Auto-delete activity older than.”
8. From the drop-down menu, choose either three, 18, or 36.
9. Tap Next.
10. Select Confirm.
11. Tap on the “Got it” button to exit.

Moving forward, all your data older than the months you’ve specified will automatically be deleted from your account.