How to activate and deactivate geolocation on your Android and iOS mobile phone? Step by step guide

One of the most relevant features that appeared with the birth of smartphones was GPS tracking. This allows Google and other applications to know your geographical position to provide you with a much more precise service that meets your needs depending on the area in which you are located . Tools like Maps use it and give you alerts for events in your area, so you can better plan your day.

While this feature is extremely useful, a lot of people don't like the idea of ​​having it enabled all the time because it means that the mobile will be constantly connected to the Internet , or what is the same, consuming (wasting) your data plan like you're a millionaire . This is why many people choose to turn it off and not use it unless it is completely necessary (have your partner ask you for the location on WhatsApp).

In this article, we are going to teach you how to activate and deactivate the GPS location of your Android or iOS mobile and clear the location history. . Besides, you will learn more features of this function and what happens when it works and what stops when you turn it off, so that you can assess for yourself how much needed it is for you.

Steps to turn your Android phone's GPS location on and off and prevent Google from storing our location

Enabling GPS tracking is pretty straightforward . On Android, this is a particularly easy process to accomplish that will not take more than a few keystrokes. In fact, you have two ways of accomplishing this task.

Below we show you each of the steps to follow to do this. .

Disable by quick settings

The first option you have is to use the "Quick settings" on your mobile. To access it, all you need to do is touch the status bar at the top of your smartphone screen and move your finger down , which will display a small curtain. In this you will see a series of functions that you can easily turn on or off.

To activate or deactivate the location, just tap on the corresponding icon, which is identified by an inverted drop as you can see in the picture.

From mobile location settings

The second way you need to enable or disable this option on your mobile is to browse the "Settings" from your mobile. What you need to do is go to this phone app and touch "Location settings" in the "Permissions" section. Once there, you will see a switch in the option "Access my position" , which you must activate or deactivate depending on whether you wish to activate or deactivate your position.

Manage position history

Among the many services that Google offers on Android , the location history is one of the main ones, although for many users it is completely unnecessary. This is hosted in your google account linked to your device and allows you to keep a continuous trace of where you are to provide you with special features based on your geographic location , such as custom maps in Maps, real-time traffic notifications, and more.

The problem is, it's constantly consuming data, so you probably want Google to stop doing this for good.

To manage this Android feature, you need to do the following :

• Enter mobile settings and follow the path "Google"> "Google Account" which will open your account settings interface.
• Once there, follow the path "Data and personalization"> "Control your account activity"> "Position history" , which will show you the option to turn this feature on or off for everyone or for a specific device.

After that, your Android will no longer continue to store your location history and will stop consuming that data that bothers you so much. . When this feature is active, Google uses the information to customize many of its reports, such as notifications for weather, traffic, etc.

It is also a protective measure because if your mobile is stolen, you can track it from the web version , turn it off and even delete the information it contains to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. When this tool is disabled, you will not be able to no longer continue to receive personalized notifications and basically you lose all the benefits that Google has for you because of that extra data consumption.

Delete location history

Another thing you can do is delete location history as Google stores in the cloud to give you all those extra features that we have already mentioned.

To do this, you just need to do the following :

• Enter the "Settings" from your mobile and follow the path "Accounts"> "Google Account"> "Data and personalization" .
• Once here you must touch "Account activity controls"> "Position history"> "Manage timeline" . This will open the Google Maps app.
• When in Maps, tap "Settings" , then on the option "Delete all position history" or if you want to delete only part of it, press "Delete a period from the history of positions" and determine the dates from which you want to clean up.

After that, the location history will be deleted completely and when you activate the function, it will start to be done from scratch, as if you are just using the mobile.

How to activate or deactivate the geolocation of your iPhone or iPad device and delete the browsing history?

Although they are direct skills, Android and iOS are more alike than you think , so on Apple devices, turning location on or off is as easy as doing it on a Google-powered smartphone. This time you also have two ways of doing the task.

Here we show you how to do it both ways:

For quick adjustments

The first way you need to turn the location of your Apple device on or off is through the quick settings menu. For this you must touch the bottom of the screen and drag it up, then touch the icon corresponding to the location to activate or deactivate it.

By advanced settings

To perform this same task through normal mobile settings, you just need to do the following:

• You just have to follow the path “Settings”> “Privacy”> “Location”.

• Once there you will see a switch to turn the location on or off, it just touch it to move it at will .

Delete iOS Location History

iOS also has a tool to meticulously track all the places you've visited in the past. If you want to eliminate it completely, you just need to follow the steps that we explain below:

• Go to “Settings”> “Privacy”> “Location”.
• Once there, go down until you find the option "System services", and inside, press "Recent locations".
• This will show you all the places you've been to since you got your iOS. To remove them, just click "Clear history" and confirm the decision in the dialog box that will appear.

If you don't want Apple to keep saving the locations you visit, just turn off the switch. "Recent locations" so that he no longer has the authorization to do so.

What happens when my mobile location is on or off?

Every action brings a reaction, and it is something that is seen in all things of life and also in the tools that we deactivate or activate on our mobile. Localization is a tool considered essential in today's smartphone world. Therefore, before you turn it off or on, you should know what consequences it might have for you.

When location is enabled

When the GPS of your mobile is on, applications that need this information can access it to offer you functions or services based on it . This also happens with various services Google et Apple who need this data to personalize the reports they provide to you.

On the other hand, you can share this information with other users so that they can reach where you are more precisely, not forgetting the possibility of being able to track your mobile in the event of loss or theft.

Even the ads you see will be affected because advertisers pay to have their ads seen by users in a certain region. Therefore, if location is enabled, you will be able to see exclusive ads for your location .

If the location is off

If you deactivate the location of your mobile, applications will not be able to access this data, so it is more than likely that many of its functions will be limited , which happens with both third-party apps and those from Google and Apple respectively.

Urban artist you will not be able to share your location with other users and the advertisements you see will be set based on your IP address . Also, if you lose your device you will not be able to track it and even if you have an active location history, the places you go to with the GPS turned off cannot be recorded.

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments, we will get back to you as soon as possible, and it will be a great help for more community members as well. Thank you!