7 Ways to Stop Your Smartphone from Tracking You

There’s little more that puts people on edge than the prospect of someone tracking your personal information on your smartphone. No one wants to feel as if their privacy has been invaded, and when having your location tracked or data stored makes you feel uneasy, you do not have to deal with it any longer.

If you’ve recently been asking yourself, “Is my phone being tracked?,” we’re here to give you seven smart ways to stop your smartphone from tracking your every move.

1.      Turn off cellular and WiFi radios on your smartphone’s settings. This is most easily achieved by turning on “Airplane mode” on your phone.

·         When you take this action, you’ll effectively be shutting down both your cell radios and the WiFi radio installed inside your phone. This prevents either of them from connecting to their respective networks.

2.   Turn off your GPS. Depending on what type of phone you have, this may be a stand-alone setting, or it may not be.

·         Some phones have this feature in the Privacy or Location Settings areas.

·         Although turning off your GPS may make things more difficult when you’re trying to find and/or follow directions to a new location, the GPS system will not be able to track your physical location when it is turned off, giving you the sense of privacy that you are seeking.  

3.      Shut your phone off completely and then physically remove the battery. Obviously, this is the simplest and most straightforward way to make sure no one can track you through your smartphone.

·         However, it also means that—of course—you can’t use or have access to your phone or any data from it while it is off and disassembled.

·          A good piece of advice is to back your device up to a computer before turning it off and removing the phone’s battery in case you need or want to access any of your data or personal information while the phone will be turned off. 

4.      Disable your phone’s location services. The way you will need to go about doing this depends on the type of phone you have, as most companies do not make it easy to find or readily accessible.

·         To turn off location settings on an Apple Device:

o   Click “Settings”

o   Go to “Privacy”

o   Choose “Location Services”

o   Scroll down to “System Services”

o   Select “Significant Locations” and you should be able to see the logged record of where you have been. Toggle it off. 

5.      Clear your “Location History” on your android’s settings.

To change your location settings on an Android device:

·         Open “Settings.”

·         Scroll down. Choose “Location” or “Advanced” (choose the “Advanced” option if you have a work profile).

·         At the top of the screen, turn off the “Use Location” option.

·         If you wish to delete your device’s location cache, choose “Delete Location History” at the bottom of the screen under “Location History.”

·         You will need to repeat this same process for each Google Account you have connected on your Android device in order to completely delete your device’s location history from being saved. 

6. Limit your phone’s ad tracking capabilities. This may seem like a less severe approach than completely turning your location services settings off. Both iOS and Android provide built-in options to minimize and limit ad tracking, thankfully.
Although using this feature won’t completely prevent companies from tracking your phone’s activities, it will at least give you the opportunity to reset your advertising ID, which will disconnect any targeted advertising profiles that are currently connected to your smartphone and/or other devices.
Here’s how to limit ad tracking on both iOS and Android:

For Apple devices:

•          Go to your device’s Settings
•         Click “Privacy“
•          Select “Advertising“
•          Toggle “Limit Ad Tracking” to the “On” setting. Here, you will also have an option to reset your Advertising Identifier. Taking this action will unlink any previous data associated with your Apple ID.

For Android devices:

•          Go to your smartphone’s Settings
•          Click “Google“
•          Select “Ads
•     Choose the “Opt out of ads personalization” setting. 

Stop Google from tracking you by adjusting your phone’s internet browser settings. Sometimes, despite having your phone’s security settings tweaked, Google has been known to still store your location data.

 This has been a serious issue for Google, as it is seen as a distrustful move for users. Some consumers are now less trusting of these services now as a result, unfortunately.

 7. To override this potential breach of privacy and prevent further intrusion, take the following steps through your Web and App Activity:

·         Sign in to your Google Account.

·         Click on “Data & personalization.”

·         Under “Activity Controls,” tap “Web & App Activity,” and turn it off.

Another way you can stop Google from getting their hands on your private data and location is to disable “YouTube History.” Once you have arrived here from the Web & App Activity setting, go to “Manage Activity.”

In the top right-hand corner, you’ll notice a three-button menu. Click the three-button menu and “Keep activity for...” to customize the timeframe. 

Here, you can modify the time frame that your activity will be stored before it is deleted. 

If you’re tired of wondering to yourself, “How to block my phone from being tracked?,” make sure you try all of the helpful hints and tricks detailed above. Even in today’s digital age, where every interaction seems to take place online, individuals still have the right to their personal space and privacy.

 Whenever you decide that you no longer feel comfortable having your information or whereabouts traced, you should have that option. Take these steps to ensure your privacy is kept as a top priority—as it should be!

 Want to see if you qualify for a free smartphone? Assist Wireless is proud to serve as Oklahoma’s #1 provider of the federally-funded Lifeline Assistance Program.

 The Lifeline Assistance Program aims to assist low-income families and Veterans with low-cost and free phones.