One of the most relevant features that emerged with the birth of smartphones was the GPS location. This allows Google and other applications to know your geographical position to provide you with a much more precise service that fits your needs according to the area you are in . Tools like Maps, use it and offer you alerts of events in your area, so you can better plan your day.
While this feature is extremely useful, many people do not like the idea of having it active all the time because this means that the mobile will be constantly connected to the internet , or what is the same, consuming (squandering) your data plan as if you were a millionaire . That is why many choose to deactivate it and not use it unless it is completely necessary (if your partner asks you for the location by WhatsApp).
In this article we will show you how to activate and deactivate the GPS location of your Android or iOS mobile phone and delete the location history . In addition, you will learn more features of this function and what happens when it is working and that stops happening when you turn it off, so you can evaluate on your own how necessary it is for you.
Activating GPS location is quite simple . In Android it is an especially easy process to perform that will not take more than one touch. In fact, you have two ways to accomplish this task.
Here we show you each of the steps you must take to do this .
Index:
Disable by quick adjustments
The first option you have is to use the “Quick settings” of the mobile. To access them you simply touch the status bar at the top of your smartphone’s screen and move your finger down , which will display a small curtain. In this one, you will see a series of functions that you can easily activate or deactivate.
To activate or deactivate the location you simply touch the corresponding icon, which is identified with an inverted drop as you can see in the image.
From the mobile location settings
The second way you have to activate or deactivate this option on your mobile is by browsing the “Settings” of your mobile. What you have to do is enter this phone application and touch “Location settings” in the “Permissions” section. Once there you will see a switch in the “Access to my location” option, which you must turn on or off as you wish to activate or deactivate your location.
Manage location history
Among the many services offered by Google on Android , location history is one of the main ones, although for many users it is completely unnecessary. This is hosted on your Google account linked to your device and allows you to keep a continuous record of where you are to offer you special features according to your geographic location , like custom maps on Maps, real-time traffic notifications and so on.
The problem with it is that it also consumes data constantly, so you probably want Google to stop doing it forever.
To manage this Android feature you must do the following :
- Enter the mobile settings and follow the path “Google”> “Google Account” which will open the settings interface of your account.
- Once there, follow the path “Data and personalization”> “Controls your account activity”> “Location history” , which will show you the option to enable or disable this feature for all or for a specific device.
After this, your Android will no longer store your location history and stop consuming the data that bothers you so much . When this feature is active, Google uses the information to customize many of your reports, such as weather, traffic and other notifications.
This also is a protection measure since if your mobile is stolen, you can track it from the web version , turn it off and even delete the information inside it to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. When this tool is deactivated, you will no longer be able to receive personalized notifications and basically you lose all the benefits that Google has for you for that extra data consumption.
Delete location history
Another thing you can do is delete the location history that Google stores in the cloud to offer you all those extra features we already mentioned.
To do this you simply do the following :
- Enter the “Settings” of your mobile and follow the path “Accounts”> “Google Account”> “Data and personalization” .
- Once here you must tap on “Controls your account activity”> “Location history”> “Manage Timeline” . This will open the Google Maps app.
- When you’re on Maps, tap “Settings” and then tap the “Delete all location history” option or if you want to delete only part of it, touch “Delete a period from location history” and determine the dates from which you want to clean up.
After this, the location history will be completely deleted and when you activate the function it will start to be done from scratch, as if you were just using the mobile.
Despite being direct competitions, Android and iOS are more similar than imagined , so on Apple devices, activating the location or deactivating it is as simple as doing it on a smartphone powered by Google. This time you also have two ways to do the task.
Here’s how to do it both ways:
By the quick settings
The first way you have to activate or deactivate the location of your Apple device is with the quick settings menu. For that you have to touch at the bottom of the screen and drag it up, and touch the icon corresponding to the location to turn it on or off.
For advanced settings
To do this same task through normal mobile settings you simply have to do the following:
- Simply follow the path «Settings»> «Privacy»> «Location».
- Once there you will see a switch to turn the location on or off, just tap on it to move it to pleasure .
Delete iOS location history
iOS also has a tool to keep meticulous control of all the locations you’ve been in the past. If you want to remove it completely you just have to follow the steps that we explain below:
- Enter «Settings»> «Privacy»> «Location».
- Once there, scroll down until you find the option «System services », and within it, tap ” Recent locations “.
- This will show you all the locations you have been in since you have your iOS. To delete them, simply touch “Clear history” and confirm the decision in the dialog box that will appear.
If you don’t want Apple to keep recording the locations you visit, you just have to turn off the “Recent locations” option so you don’t have permission to do so anymore.
What happens when my mobile location is active or disabled?
Every action brings a reaction, and this is something that is seen in all things in life and also in the tools that we turn off or on our mobile. Location is a tool that is considered essential in today’s smartphone universe , so before turning it off or on you should know the consequences that this could bring to you.
When the location is on
When you have your mobile GPS on , applications that need this information can access it to offer you functions or services based on it . This also happens with various Google and Apple, services that need this data to customize the reports they offer you.
On the other hand, you will be able to share this information with other users so that they can arrive in a more precise way to where you are, without forgetting the possibility of being able to track your mobile strong> in case you lose it or suffer a theft.
Even the ads you see will be affected , since advertisers pay for their ads to be displayed by users in a given region. So if you have the location on you will see exclusive ads for your location .
If the location is off
If you turn off the location of your mobile the applications will not be able to access this data, so it is more than likely that many of its functions will be limited , so which happens with third-party apps as well as those of Google and Apple respectively.
In addition, you will not be able to share your location with other users and the ads you see will be established according to your IP address . Also, if you lose your device you will not be able to track it and even if you have the history of active locations, the places you go to with the GPS turned off cannot be registered.