How to stop Google from tracking you

People have heard that Google can track a person’s location. To protect their privacy, they turn Location History off.

However, not many people know that Google often stores a person’s precise location, even if Location History is turned off.

Google is not the only thing that tracks people’s locations either. Connecting to the Internet on any device flags an IP address.

This IP address can be mapped geographically. Smartphones also connect to cell towers. Connecting to cell towers allows a person’s carrier to know where he or she is at all times.

However, these are some practices that can be used to try to keep one’s location as private as possible.

To stop Google from tracking any device’s location, log onto Google and go to myactivity.google.com. Go to Activity Controls. Turn off both Location History and Web and App Activity.

This can stop a Google account from storing precise location markers.

However, the Google Assistant and Google Home smart speaker will not work very well with these settings turned off.

To stop Google from tracking an Android device, go to the main settings icon. Click on Security and Location and scroll down to the Privacy heading. Tap on Location. It can be toggled off for the entire Android device.

Location access for different apps can be turned off with App-Level Permissions. However, there is no setting for While Using like on an iPhone.

To stop Google from tracking an iOS device, adjust the settings in Google Maps. Change the location setting to While Using the App.

This will keep the app from accessing the device’s location while the app is inactive. In Safari, consider changing from Google’s search engine to a different search engine. This can be done in Safari’s settings.

To turn Location Services almost entirely off, go to the Privacy and Location Service tabs in Settings. After most Location Services are turned off, only emergency respondents will still be able to find the device if needed.

Image Reference: NDTV