If You Have An iPhone 11 Or Later
If you have a phone designed with Apples U1 chip such as an iPhone 11 or later and have disabled location services for specific apps, you may find that you still sometimes see the arrow. According to Apple, this is because these models use ultra wideband technology, which Apple says is regulated, so the phones use location services to determine if theyre in an area where ultra wideband use is restricted.
The iPhone requests location data when location preferences are set on an app-per-app basis, so switching off location services for your phone overall will stop these location requests since your phone wont be able to collect any location data.
Prevent All Apps From Tracking Your Location On iPhone
While it is easy to Disable Location Tracking by All Apps on iPhone, you need to be aware that certain Apps have a legitimate need to track your Location.
Apps like , Apple Maps and Weather related Apps wont be able to provide you with accurate readings, when Location Tracking is disabled.
Also, you wont be able to use Apples Find My iPhone service or Share your Location in Messages, Google Maps and other Apps with your family and friends.
To completely disable location tracking on iPhone, go to Settings> Privacy> Location Services> move the toggle next to Location Services to OFF position.
This will totally prevent All the Apps on your device from accessing your Location Data.
Way 4 Disable Location
There are three location based service on iPhone named Location-Based Alerts, Location-Based Apple Ads, Location-Based Suggestions, which will give your notifications based on your location, provide you with iAds relevant to your geographical location, and recommend apps you might want to use based on where your phone is.
If you’re concerned about your privacy, you can easily disable them from System service. In addition, you can see a list of location services such as Cell Network Search, Find My iPhone, which will track your phone location as well. So look at those options here and disable those you do not need.
Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services > Turn off the Locations Service according to your need.
Recommended Reading: Sprint Promo Code Pokemon Go
Is Ad Tracking Useful For You
Privacy should be a fundamental right. Earlier, companies had sort of a free hand. Now, if they want your device ID, email, and other such useful information for ads, iOS 15 just says, hey, get the users permission, and then you can have access to this private info. Apples developer page talks in detail about this.
The targeted ad is not a crime. Sometimes, I see ads for great restaurants on Instagram only to find the restaurant is in another city. Thus, this ad is almost useless for me. I wont click on it. But, when I see restaurant ads from my city, I often click to learn more about them.
So, we can conclude that it depends on user preference. If you wish to see relevant ads, you may let apps cross-track you.
Ios 145 Stops Apps Gathering Information About You That Can Be Used For Targetted Advertising We Explain How To Set It Up
iOS 14.5 bought a number of new features, including a bunch of new emoji and iPhone unlocking while wearing a mask, but one of the biggest changes in iOS 14.5 is one you may not notice.
Once installed iOS 14.5 will stop apps from being able to access your data – this is data that can be shared with other apps and third parties so that ads can be targeted to you. Following the update the only change you will probably see is the odd request for permission to track you when you install a new app, and fewer of those ads that seem to follow you around the internet.
Following the iOS 14.5 update the new setting will be on by default, so you don’t need to do anything. But you can adjust it to suit you.
With this setting on any new app you install will have to request permission to track you across other apps and websites. As a result if you download a new app you will see a message asking you to choose whether to ‘Ask App not to Track’ or ‘Allow’.
Recommended Reading: Get Rid Of Siri Suggestions
Turn Off Significant Locations
Your iPhone keeps track of the places you visit frequently. This information is used to help you navigate through traffic better, among other things. But its invasive. You might want to turn this feature off.
How do you turn off Significant Locations? Follow these steps:
- Go to Settings> Privacy > Location Services > System Services > Significant Locations.
- Slide off Significant Locations
- Tap Clear History
This will both stop Apple from tracking you and wipe your location history clean.
Also Read: How to Tell If Your Cell Phone Is Being Tracked Tapped or Monitored by Spy Software
Turn Off Location Tracking On iPhone Or iPad
The Location Tracking feature on iPhone makes use of GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Cellular Service to track your location and makes this information available to Apps installed on your device.
While this feature can be useful for services like Maps, Weather and Find My iPhone, it can also be used by unwanted Apps to collect more information about you, solely for the purpose of selling this information to other companies.
In addition to Apps, iPhone also keeps a record of places that you visit, in order to provide you with personalized services like Predictive Traffic Routing, Memories in Photos App, Calendar events and others.
Fortunately, Apple requires the App makers to seek User Permission before tracking their location and also provides the option to prevent your device from tracking your location.
Also Check: What Does No Sim Restrictions Mean
Turn Off Locations For Specific Apps
If you want to turn off Locations for some apps, but not entirely disable Locations on your phone, you can do that manually on your phone. This means going into the Settings of each app and changing the permissions. There are four options for Locations on your apps: Never, Ask, While Using App and Always.
Note: Some apps may only allow two or three of these options, depending on their capabilities.
Steps:
Why Would You Disable Apple’s U1 Chip
Some users complained about how the U1-equipped iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro can track location data even when the location services are turned off. In response to this, Apple rolled out a software update to allow users to disable the U1 chip.
There were also reports when the iPhone 11 models were originally released that UWB technology was not allowed in some countries, like Russia, Iran, Argentina, and Indonesia.
As a result, it’s possible to permanently turn off the U1 chip.
Don’t Miss: How Do You Speed Up A Video On iPhone
Heres How To Turn Off Location Services:
Go to your Settings > Privacy > Location Services. Toggle the button next to Location Services to off.
Alternatively, you could reset all of your location settings to the factory default. This means apps will not be able to use your location unless you give them permission. To do so, go to Settings > General > Reset then select Reset Location & Privacy. By the way, if you dont want anyone to see what youre looking at on your phones apps, you can learn how to lock apps on an iPhone and keep prying eyes away.
- Ray Walsh, a digital privacy expert at ProPrivacy,
- Sreejith Omanakuttan, Associate technical manager at Fingent
- Charles Andrews, a cybersecurity expert at Guardian Computer, an IT services and support company
How to Delete Everything on Your iPhone
How To Turn Off Apple’s U1 Chip
To ensure your iPhone no longer tracks your location all the time, do this:
Note: By turning the U1 chip off, your iPhone can no longer use location services to improve your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.
Read Also: What Is Carrier Settings Update On iPhone 6
How To Know Which Apps Are Tracking Your Location
Both Android and iOS let you check the list of apps that seek your location.
On Android, head to Settings > Privacy > Permissions > Location. Here, youll see the list of apps that can access the devices location and whether theyre allowed to do so. On iOS, you can check it in Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
A lot of third-party apps claim to use the phones location for business or analytics purposes. However, in most cases, theyre either using it for ads or sharing it with other parties. You can read their privacy policy to see if theyve mentioned any such provisions.
Turn Off Locations On iPhone Completely
The direct way to turn off all Locations services for your iPhone is in Settings. This turns off Locations for all apps, and will stay off unless you change it back. This will stop your iPhone from tracking you, it helps save battery life and protects your privacy.
Keep in mind that apps such as Maps, Find My and others may lose functionality without Locations turned on. Also, if you download a new app or visit some websites they may request your Location, in order to access these you might turn Locations back on just for a brief moment, with the intention to turn it off again. However, if you forget to turn it off afterwards, Locations will be resumed on your phone and will continue tracking you until you turn it off manually in Settings.
Steps:
Also Check: Searching Text Messages iPhone
How To Stop Apps From Tracking On iPhone Ios 15
- To stop apps from tracking -> Settings -> Privacy -> Track -> Tap on Allow app request to track -> select app and turn off app tracking.
iPhone releases a new version of iOS operating system every year and comes up with new features to gain the attention of users, now a days every app you use need your iPhone location, track your GPS and your daily activities like fitness apps, cab bookings app needs the data. But you dont need to allow them to track all the time and allow apps to request to track on or off.
iPhone apps tracks data of yours and display ads on your app when using them as well. You can stop tracking apps on iPhone in old versions like 14.5 as well by turning off ask apps to stop tracking version transparency has been introduced keeping user privacy and data. So, leâts see in detail with the new iPhone iOS 15 version.
Apple iPhone Trackingheres How To Turn It Off
Apples so-called IDFA is under fire once again after a European privacy advocate accused the iPhone maker of unlawfully installing the ad tracking function on its devices. Heres how you can disable ad tracking.
Apples so-called IDFA is under fire once again after a European … privacy advocate accused the iPhone maker of unlawfully installing the ad tracking function on its devices.
When Apple launched iOS 14 this fall, it was already planning to give consumers more choice over whether to enable the IDFAwhich allows advertisers to track your behavior and consumption preferences. But the iPhone maker delayed the new privacy feature after a major pushback from advertisers including Facebook.
Now, according to Bloomberg, theres been pushback in the other direction, against the IDFA, by Noyb, a group founded by privacy activist Max Schrems. The group is complaining that because the trackers are placed on iPhones by default, consumers are unable to consent to them.
Rather than being based on the 2018 EU Update to Data Protection Regulation , the complaints by Noyb are based around an old EU law regulating firms use of cookies and other tracking devices, Bloomberg said. The action refers to only German and Spanish users who complained about Apples use of invasive trackers.
But Apple has hit back against the claims, calling them factually inaccurate.
Recommended Reading: Pool In Imessage
Consider A Different Browser On Your Phone
Many of you are familiar with private web browsers. But few know about the browsers that allow you to search the internet on a mobile device with much less tracking. This is handy if you want to look up a product, for example, without getting spammed with ads for it later.
In Chrome, you can use Incognito Mode to stop Google from remembering your web activity. Open up Chrome, tap the three-dot menu to the right of the address bar and select New Incognito tab.
Mozillas free Firefox Focus app is another solid option that erases passwords and browsing history after each session.
Alternatively, iPhone users can use the default Safari browser and access a private window for stealthy browsing. Just tap the window icon in the bottom right corner and select Private. To exit this mode, follow the same steps and tap Private again to return to your ordinary browsing windows.
If you dont like the idea of Google recording all your search terms, alternative search engines such as DuckDuckGo dont track you as aggressively. .
Check Your Virtual Assistants
With the rise of virtual assistants like Siri and Google Assistant, our smartphones are no longer used strictly for calls and chats we can now use our voices to command these gadgets however, when you utter wake words, the audio file of your voice command is uploaded and saved to Apple, Amazon, or Googles servers for processing.
Chances are, as with any other tracking information, this data is likely anonymized and run through algorithms that look for behaviors and patterns that can be used for targeted advertising. Tap or click here to read more about our modern gadgets voice control technology and how to stop them from recording you.
Recommended Reading: How To Cheat In 8 Ball Pool Game Pigeon
Way 5 Disable iPhone Location Tracking For Individual Apps
Many apps such as Facebook, Google Maps need to keep track of our location in order to provide their services or the best experience. However, it is not necessary to let all of them to know exactly where you are. You can set the app always monitor your location, only track it when the app is in use, or you can set it never tracks your location.
Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Tap an app’s name to adjust its Location Services setting.
Disable iPhone Location Tracking Individually For Apps
Finally, individual third-party apps are allowed to track your location. You can control which app has access to your location and which doesnt. You can also prevent all your installed apps from accessing your location.
To disable iPhone Location Tracking for individual apps, follow these steps:
- Go to settings> Privacy > Location Services
- Tap the app you dont want tracking your location
- Tap on Never.
Its a good idea to choose the While Using the App setting for most apps. This not only prevents them from tracking you 24/7 but also helps conserve your battery.
Also Check: How To Screen Mirror iPhone To Samsung
Tech News That Matters To You Daily
Privacy, security, the latest trends and the info you need to live your best digital life.
Known as Frequent Locations, it keeps track of where you are and how long you stay there. It even knows where you live and work based on how long youre there and the number of times you visit.
If you find this unsettling, you can turn the feature off. Here are the basic steps, but depending on your specific model and operating system, you may need to follow a different set of instructions.
Turn On Airplane Mode
Did you know your carrier tracks your location too? One of the easiest ways to prevent anyone from seeing your current location is to turn on Airplane mode. This disables your WiFi, cellular service, NFC, and Bluetooth.
- To disable Airplane mode on either Android or iOS, bring up the control panel by swiping and tap the airplane icon.
Without WiFi, radio antenna, NFC, and Bluetooth, your phone becomes exponentially harder to track. But Airplane mode doesnt turn off the phones GPS. Your phone is still traceable via GPS, which itself works via satellite relay.
You May Like: How To Set Up Group Chat On iPhone