How to stop your Android phone from accessing your location

If you're curious about the amount of location data that Google collects from your Android phone, then click here to find out. It is incredible how present Google is, in your daily life and how they remain transparent about all the information they collected from you and how it is used. For instance Google Maps, use your already stored location info to help you navigate. But what about the third-party apps you have installed on your Android, that you knowingly or unknowingly granted permissions to your location? How do you restrict third-party apps from being able to access your location? And most importantly, is it possible to block location information from being sent out from your phone, even if its to Google? All these can be done by doing the following:

Restrict location access for specific apps

If you do not know the particular apps that are currently able to access your location information, then simply go to Settings >> Location and scroll down, to see the list of apps. Note that location access permissions can't be restricted for an single app, unless the option is offered within the app's own settings. Fortunately, there is a way of working around this.

• Simply download AppOps from the Google Play Store.
• Once AppOps is installed on your phone, launch it. Select the app you want to revoke location access to and have the Location switch toggled to Off. And you're set.

Stop location tracking entirely

Head over to your Settings >> Location. In the page that opens, turn the Location switch to Off. Its that simple. Now your location will be yours. Although allowing location access to apps can be beneficial in terms of improved performance, it is vital that you know how much personal data a third party app collects and there are actual reasons they would need such info. Do you think giving location access to third-party apps is a big deal? If so, let us know in the comments.