How to fully disable Google location tracking on your account

Keep your data to yourself

The amount of personal information we share with a big data-driven tech company like Google is a widely discussed topic. Google has been called out about privacy concerns and location tracking issues in the past. However, it now provides better account features that give its users more control over location tracking settings. In this guide, we'll discuss the different methods you can use to keep the location data on your Google account more private.

How to disable location tracking on your entire Google account

Disable the location history setting

It's important to note that the location history setting should only be enabled if you or someone who has access to your account enabled it. As per Google's explanation of the feature, it's now disabled by default, requiring an extra opt-in step if you want to use it. If location tracking for your Google account was previously on, but you want to turn it off, you can do the following:

1. Visit the Location History main page in your web browser, then sign in to your primary Google account if needed.
2. Under the Location History section, hit the Turn off button to get started.
3. Scroll through the next screen discussing the feature, then press the Pause button.
4. Tap the Got it button to finish up with this part of your account settings.

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Now that you've disabled the location history tracking on your Google account, it'll apply to all the devices you have linked to that account as well. Google's ability to track your location data when using its services has been significantly reduced. Of course, each device you own has its own location settings, but this account-wide change makes app use better for everyone.

Disable the web and search history setting

This little feature is often overlooked, but your location is also somewhat trackable through the web and search history on your Google account. Let's say you do a lot of browsing on Google Maps; it'll keep a record of what areas you have previously viewed. That means if you were looking for places near you, there's a general location history saved to your account. In this case, Google can still indirectly track your specific location habits without ever relying on the GPS features from the device itself.

You can choose to disable and delete your Google account search history by doing the following:

1. Visit the Web & App Activity main page in your web browser.
2. Under the Web & App Activity section, you can press the Turn off button to get started.
3. Scroll through the next screen talking about the feature, then press the Pause button.
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4. Tap Delete old activity followed by the All time option.
5. Select one or all the products (Maps especially) you want to remove your search history from, then press Next.
6. Hit the Delete button to completely wipe the search history from your account.
7. Press Got it to return to the previous Activity controls page.

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At this point, you have turned off search history and deleted the old data from your Google account. Doing so removes any previous searches and possible location information, which keeps them from being used in the future for other Google services and apps.

How to disable location tracking on your Android device

This may not come as a surprise to many, but disabling location tracking and search history on your Google account is likely not enough to keep your data private. Since an Android smartphone has GPS and location features built into it, you can still get tracked in a few different ways. Whether it's your camera app or Google Photos, there are other details to check to help lessen the amount of location tracking on your device.

Disable location settings in your camera app

When you open your camera app for the first time on some devices, it might prompt you with a location request popup. Granting access to this permission allows the camera to tag your new photos with location information, which can be helpful if you travel a lot. This is known as EXIF data; however, you may not want your photo location data stored. You can double-check your camera app location settings by doing the following:

1. Open the Pixel Camera app, then tap the settings cogwheel in the upper left corner.
2. Go to More settings.
3. Pressthe button on the right for Save location to disable the feature.

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You can also go to Settings → Location → App location permissions to revoke the Camera app permission. The above example is for Pixel phones, but you can always find the general app location permissions in your system settings menu on other devices.

Disable location settings in Google Photos

Just as the camera app can inject location data into your photos in real-time, Google Photos can take that same information and back it up to your Google account online. It can also attempt to add missing location data to untagged photos using your previous location history or landmarks. It's a pretty handy feature to have for keeping photos organized; however, you can always review this setting by doing the following:

1. Open the Google Photos app, tap your profile icon in the upper right, then go to Photos settings.
2. From there, you want to go to Location → Location sources.
3. If needed, turn off the Estimate missing locations feature by tapping the button on the right.

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Disable Google location services tracking

Google has a few on-device location services to check if security is important to you. To find these settings on a Pixel phone, you can go to Settings → Location → Location services. If you have another device, doing a quick search in the system settings menu for "location services" should work just the same.

Pay attention to the Google Location Accuracy, Google Location History, and Google Location Sharing settings. If you followed the steps above, these should already be disabled, but it's always good to double-check. Keeping them off means you'll miss out on a few features, such as increased accuracy with Google Maps or better search recommendations. However, choosing not to use these features can further reduce Google location tracking on your device.

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Disable the Find My Device feature

Since Find My Device has to keep tabs on your location data to be effective, this is yet another tracking feature to consider. If you had to keep just one location service enabled, this is a good choice – you never know when your device might get lost or stolen. However, if you still want to disable the feature to cut back the location tracking on your Google account, you can do the following:

1. Go to Settings → Security → Find My Device.
2. If the Use Find My Device setting is on, you can disable it by switching the button on the right to the off position.

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Short of using your Android device offline and never logging into any services, it can be challenging to keep your personal data private at all times. Whether you're seeking to shield yourself from Google or third-party apps, it's important to review your location information. If you followed the steps in this guide, the amount of location data that Google can collect from your account is now severely limited.

About The Author

Stephen Perkins (9 Articles Published)

Stephen is a freelance writer for Android Police who writes general guides and how-tos. He previously worked at Gadget Hacks, writing how-to articles for the Android rooting and modding section. As a power user, he enjoys tweaking his Android devices to fit his specific needs.

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