Your smartphone is constantly aware of where you are in the world. While this GPS data is incredibly useful for navigating via Google Maps or finding a nearby restaurant, it is also a highly valuable commodity for advertisers and data brokers. Many third-party applications will request access to your location data and then silently harvest it in the background, long after you have closed the app.
Allowing apps to track your every movement is a massive invasion of privacy and a severe drain on your battery life. Fortunately, modern versions of Android offer granular control over these permissions. By learning how to stop apps from tracking your location in the background on Android, you can lock down your device and ensure your whereabouts remain entirely private.
The Different Types of Location Permissions
Before Android 10, location permissions were largely binary: an app either had total access to your GPS, or none at all. Today, the Android operating system offers three distinct levels of location access.
Before you begin auditing your apps, you must understand what each permission level means:
- Allow all the time: The app can track your location 24/7, even when your phone is asleep in your pocket. This should be reserved strictly for essential tools like family tracking apps or emergency services.
- Allow only while using the app: The app can only see your location when it is actively open and visible on your screen. The moment you switch to another app or turn off your screen, the tracking stops instantly.
- Don’t allow (Deny): The app is completely blocked from accessing your location data under any circumstances.
How to Audit Your Background Location Permissions
To identify which apps are secretly tracking you in the background, you need to use the Android Permission Manager. (Note: Exact menu names may vary slightly depending on whether you are using a Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, or another Android device, but the general workflow is identical.)
- Unlock your Android device and open the Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap on Location (on some devices, you may need to tap Security & Privacy > Privacy first).
- Tap on App location permissions (or App permissions).
You will now see a complete list of every app installed on your phone that has requested location access. Crucially, this list is categorised by the permission levels mentioned above.
How to Restrict an App’s Access
Focus your attention on the section labelled “Allowed all the time”. This is the danger zone. Any app listed here is actively harvesting your location data in the background.
You will likely find weather widgets, shopping apps, and social media platforms hiding in this list. Unless an app fundamentally requires 24/7 tracking to function, it should be restricted immediately.
- Tap on the name of an app listed under “Allowed all the time” (e.g., Facebook or a local weather app).
- You will be presented with the permission choices.
- Tap Allow only while using the app. (If the app does not actually need your location at all to function, tap Don’t allow).
- Tap the back arrow in the top left corner to save your changes and return to the main list.
Repeat this process for every single app in the “Allowed all the time” section until it is completely empty (or contains only explicitly trusted tools).
Using the “Approximate Location” Feature
Android 12 introduced a brilliant new privacy feature called Approximate Location. When an app requests your location (like a weather app checking your local forecast), you can provide it with a fuzzy, general area rather than your exact street address.
When you tap on an app in the permission manager, look for the toggle switch labelled Use precise location. Turn this switch Off. The app will still know which city you are in, but it will not know exactly which building you are standing in.
