You’re being tracked. It sounds paranoid, like something out of a low-budget spy thriller, but honestly, it’s just the default state of modern life. Your phone is a beacon. It’s constantly whispering to satellites, cell towers, and Wi-Fi routers, telling them exactly where you are, usually down to the very meter. Sometimes that’s great—like when you’re lost in a new city and need a taco—but other times, it feels like a massive invasion of privacy.
Learning how to turn your location off isn't just about flipping a single switch and disappearing into the night. It’s actually kind of a mess. If you just hit the "airplane mode" button, you might think you’re invisible, but GPS is a passive receiving technology; your phone can still know where you are even if it isn't "talking" to a tower. Truly cutting the cord requires a bit of a surgical approach to your settings.
We’ve all been there. You search for a specific pair of boots and suddenly every app you own knows you were standing in that one specific boutique on 5th Avenue. It’s creepy. But before you go scorched earth, you have to understand that your phone uses several different layers of location data. There’s the GPS chip, which is the big one, but there’s also Bluetooth beacon tracking and Wi-Fi scanning. Even if your GPS is "off," your phone can sometimes figure out your location based on the name of the Wi-Fi network at the coffee shop you're sitting in.
The Reality of Ghosting Your Own Devices
Most people think there’s a "privacy button" that solves everything. There isn't.
On an iPhone, the process is buried under several layers of menus. You have to go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, and then Location Services. Most people stop there. They toggle the main switch and think they're done. But have you ever looked at "System Services" at the very bottom of that list? That’s where the real tracking happens. Things like "Significant Locations" keep a history of where you live, work, and eat. It’s categorized as "encrypted," but the fact that it exists at all is enough to make anyone do a double-take.
Android is a different beast entirely because Google is, at its heart, an advertising company. They want your data. To figure out how to turn your location off on a Pixel or a Samsung, you’re usually swiping down the notification shade and hitting the "Location" icon. But that only stops apps from asking for your coordinates. Google’s background services might still be pinging your location for "Find My Device" or emergency location services.
iPhone Users: The Deep Dive Into Settings
If you’re on iOS 17 or 18, Apple has made it slightly easier to manage, but the "Share My Location" feature is often the culprit for why your friends—or your ex—can see where you are.
Go to Settings. Tap Privacy & Security. Tap Location Services.
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If you want to be a ghost, turn the master switch off. But wait. If you do that, your weather app won't work. Your maps won't know where you are. You won't be able to tag a photo's location. A better way is to go app-by-app. Do you really need that random puzzle game knowing your exact latitude? Probably not. Set most things to "Never" or "Ask Next Time."
The Android Struggle
Android users have it rough because the menus change depending on if you have a Motorola, a Samsung, or a Google Pixel.
Generally, you're looking for "Location" in the settings. But here’s the kicker: Google’s "Location Accuracy" (formerly known as Google Location Services) uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to find you even when GPS is off. If you want to be truly off the grid, you have to disable "Wi-Fi Scanning" and "Bluetooth Scanning" in the location settings. It’s annoying. It makes your blue dot in Google Maps jump around like crazy, but that’s the price of privacy.
Why Your Location Still Leaks
You turned off the GPS. You disabled Wi-Fi scanning. You’re safe, right?
Not exactly.
Your cellular provider always knows where you are. They have to. In order to send a call or a text to your phone, the network needs to know which cell tower you are connected to. This is called "cell site triangulation." It’s not as precise as GPS—it might only know you're within a few hundred yards—but it’s still location data. Short of taking the battery out (which you can't even do on modern phones) or putting your phone in a Faraday cage, your carrier will always have a rough idea of your whereabouts.
Then there’s IP address tracking. Every time you visit a website, your IP address gives away your general city or neighborhood. Using a VPN can mask this, but it doesn’t "turn off" your location; it just lies about it. It’s a subtle difference but a vital one for anyone serious about digital footprints.
The Trade-offs Nobody Mentions
If you actually figure out how to turn your location off and keep it off, your phone becomes significantly less "smart."
- Emergency Services: In the U.S., E911 relies on your phone's ability to transmit its location. If you’re in a car wreck and can’t speak, those disabled settings could be a problem. Thankfully, most phones are programmed to override your privacy settings if you call 911, but it’s something to keep in mind.
- Find My Phone: If you lose your phone in a taxi and your location services are hard-disabled, say goodbye to that $1,000 device. You can't track a phone that isn't tracking itself.
- Smart Home Automation: If your lights are set to turn on when you pull into the driveway, that’s going to stop working. Your phone needs to know you’re in the driveway to trigger the command.
Taking Control of Your Digital Shadow
It’s not all or nothing. You don't have to live like a luddite to have some semblance of privacy. The best approach is a "least privileged" model.
Go through your app list. If an app doesn't need to know where you are to function, kill its access. Instagram doesn't need your location 24/7. Your banking app probably only needs it when you're looking for an ATM. Use the "While Using the App" setting religiously.
Also, check your Google Account settings. Google keeps a "Timeline" of everywhere you’ve been. Even if your phone's current location is off, your history might still be sitting there on a server in Mountain View. You can go to myactivity.google.com and set your location history to auto-delete every three months. It’s a small win, but it’s a win.
Practical Next Steps
- Audit your "System Services": On iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services and turn off "Significant Locations" and "iPhone Analytics."
- Disable Scanning: On Android, search for "Scanning" in your settings and toggle off both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning for location purposes.
- Use a Privacy-Focused Browser: Browsers like Brave or Firefox Focus do a better job of masking your location from websites than standard Chrome.
- Check Your Photos: By default, your phone attaches "EXIF data" to every photo you take. This includes the exact GPS coordinates of where the photo was snapped. If you post that photo on Reddit or X, anyone can download it and see exactly where you live. Turn off location access for your Camera app specifically to stop this.
Privacy is a constant battle, not a destination. You'll never be 100% invisible as long as you carry a device with a lithium-ion battery and an antenna. But by managing how to turn your location off strategically, you can at least stop the most egregious data harvesting. Take ten minutes today to go through your privacy settings. Your future self will thank you for not leaving a digital breadcrumb trail to every single place you've ever been.