How to turn off the transfer of geodata. How to improve the accuracy of geolocation. Disable Location Tracking in Chrome
Sometimes you may notice that your location on Google Maps is not accurate or not at all (blue dot not shown). This article explains how to troubleshoot these issues.
Note. A more accurate location will help improve your search results.
How to find out where you are
How Maps Determine Where You Are
The location is determined by the following data:
- GPS. Satellite signal (accuracy - up to 20 meters). Note. If you are in a building or subway, the data may not be accurate.
- WiFi. Nearest wireless network source.
- Cell tower. Place of connection to the cellular network (accuracy - up to several kilometers).
How to increase location accuracy
Do the following:
How else can you improve the accuracy of geolocation
If your location is still incorrect, follow the steps below.
If the beam from the blue dot on the map is too wide or points in the wrong direction, you need to calibrate the compass.
What does the blue dot mean
Your current location is marked with a blue dot on the map. If Google Maps can't pinpoint exactly where you are right now, a blue circle will appear around the blue dot. The smaller the circle, the more accurate your coordinates.
Notes
- If there is no blue dot or you see a gray dot, then Google Maps doesn't know where you are. The gray dot marks the last saved location.
- If there are obstacles between you and the cell tower, such as tall buildings, the location may not be accurate.
How to see your location on other websites and apps
To see your location on Google Maps on other sites and apps, follow the instructions above. However, some things will be different:
- A site or app other than Google Maps will be used.
- The site or application you use must first be granted access to location data.
- If you are using the Google Chrome or Safari browsers, your location will only be displayed on web pages that are secured using the https protocol.
Many do not even know that they are constantly being tracked and that their location is constantly being recorded on Google's servers. Every place you visit is tracked using Wi-Fi, mobile networks and GPS. This option is enabled by default and usually improves the user experience.
There are many apps and services that rely on your location, such as Google Now, or show your location in Tweets, Facebook, etc., so your movement is constantly tracked.
Even though tracking your location has many benefits, those who care about their privacy don't like this feature. And this is logical, since not everyone wants to reveal their exact location. In this case, it is possible to disable the location tracking feature. In addition, you can also delete all previous location history.
If you want to turn off the location feature and keep your current location private, below are detailed instructions that will show you how to turn off the Google Location feature and also tell you how to delete your previous location history.
Note! There are many applications that require your location to provide services, and in most cases opting out of the location tracking feature is more important for some of them than maintaining privacy. Before disabling this feature, please make sure that you are not dependent on applications that use your location to provide services, or you will have to opt out of them. In addition, the effect is not permanent, following the same procedures as described below, you can enable this function again at any time convenient for you. Therefore, you should not worry if you turn off the location feature.
How to disable location tracking on PC in Windows 10
If you don't like the idea of Windows 10 knowing your location all the time, you can quickly change your settings and turn it off. You can turn off location tracking only for your own user account, or for each user account.
How to turn off location tracking for one user account
How to turn off location tracking for all Windows 10 accounts
If you have multiple Windows accounts, you can turn off location for all at once. You can do it in the following way..
The blue color of the switch should disappear.
Video - How to disable location in Windows 10
How to set the computer shutdown timer
If you want to turn off your computer after a certain amount of time, such as after a render has finished, but you need to go somewhere, you can set a computer shutdown timer. Fortunately, third-party programs are not required for this.
There are several ways to turn off your computer using the shutdown timer.
Method 1: Using the "shutdown -s -t N" command
On a note! It may happen that you change your mind about turning off the computer. In this case, press "Win + R" and in the window that appears, paste "shutdown -a". This way you will reset the previous command by canceling the shutdown of the computer.
Method 2. Create a shortcut with the command "shutdown.exe -s -t N"
How to turn off location tracking on Android&iOS
The location tracking feature can be very helpful. For example, she can recommend a great cafe nearby, but this option can also lead to trouble.
If you answered “Yes” when you first started your Android device when asked if you want your location to be tracked, then you have a location history. It contains data about all your movements added automatically by Google. You can view it in your Google account. Such a history can give a more accurate search result or any other clues.
However, if you don't feel comfortable and don't feel secure (that all your steps are being tracked), you can turn off the location tracking feature. And here's how to do it.
Disable Location Tracking on Android
Note! You can also do the following. Open the link https://www.google.com/settings/accounthistory. There you will see "Location History". Move the switch to turn it off.
If you want to delete your location history, do the following.
You can also access your location settings through Google Maps.
Disable Location Tracking on iPhone and iPad
Location Services in iOS is quite flexible. You can turn them off like this:
How to disable location tracking in browsers
There are services and add-ons that require your current location while browsing. Therefore, if you do not want them to know about your location, you need to disable location tracking in your browser.
Below are detailed instructions on how to disable location in different browsers.
Disable Location Tracking in Chrome
Your location will no longer be tracked. In this window, you can also add sites that are allowed to track your location.
Disable location tracking in Opera
Your location will no longer be tracked.
Disable location tracking in Mozilla Firefox
This means that your location will no longer be tracked.
Disable location tracking in Internet Explorer
Your location will no longer be tracked.
Disable location tracking in Microsoft Edge
The Microsoft Edge browser is linked to the Windows operating system, so location tracking settings are not available in it. But if you turn off the location in the Windows settings for PC (as in the instructions at the very beginning of this article), then your location will not be used in the browser either.
Video - How to stop sites from tracking your location
When it comes to modern technology, there is often a compromise between privacy and convenience. The same location feature that might recommend a good coffee shop near you or show you your boarding pass at the airport can get you in trouble. But we will tell you how to turn off location tracking in Android OS if you no longer want the device to know where you are.
What locations does Android track?
The very first time you fire up your Android device, you'll be asked if you want to share your location with others. If you select "Yes", Google will automatically add your movements to your location history, which you can view in your Google account.
According to Google, location history “helps you get useful information, such as automatic suggestions about your daily trips or improved search results. To do this, a personal map is created with the places you visit.
But if the card is restricted, what's the problem?
We didn't say there was a problem! But not everyone feels comfortable knowing their every move is being tracked. If you lose your device, people with criminal intent can get the information. If you were a robber, we think you would be interested to know where a person lives, when he leaves and when he returns from work.
In addition, it is likely that information about your movements may sooner or later be used against you in court, especially if it indicates that you were where you should not have been. And of course, some people are simply uncomfortable to realize that some private companies are aware of their every move.
What are the downsides of disabling location tracking?
You will lose some of the functionality that makes Android so convenient. A Google Now that doesn't know your favorite places will no longer be useful, as will apps that rely on location services. On the other hand, by turning off GPS, you save your battery power.
How to disable location tracking in Android OS
There are 2 ways to stop tracking your movement. On a computer, follow the link https://www.google.com/settings/accounthistory> Places you have visited > Manage history, then click on "Turn off history"; a pop-up window will display information about which services will be affected by disabling the history, and will show a link where you can delete your entire travel history at once.
On an Android device, it's even easier.
- Open the "Settings" menu
- Scroll down the screen to "Location"
- In the upper right corner you will see an On/Off switch. Use it to turn the location service on or off.
- Tap on Location > Location History
- In the same upper right corner you will find a switch with which you can turn off the history of your movements
If you want to delete an already saved history, you can do the following: while in the "Location History" section, click on the "Delete Location History" button located at the bottom of the screen. Once deleted, this information cannot be recovered.
How to turn off location tracking on iPad and iPhone
If you have an Android phone and an iOS tablet or vice versa, you will also need to check the location settings of the second device. Apple devices can also store your location and provide it to apps. To disable location tracking, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. If Location Services is turned on, you will be presented with a list of apps with the following information: firstly, you will be shown whether location services are enabled for the individual app, and secondly, whether it has used your location information recently.
There is also another section here - System Services - which allows you to disable the use of location information at the system level, i.e. for features such as location-based advertising, browser search suggestions, setting time zones, etc. Just disable any services you don't need.
How to re-enable location tracking in Android OS
If you suddenly realize that you miss Google Now, or realize that your movements are not interesting enough for outsiders, you can easily turn location tracking back on. This time you will need:
- Open the "Settings" menu
- Scroll down the screen to "Location"
- Tap on Location > Google Location Settings
- Drag the slider in the upper right corner to the On position.
- Click on "Location History" and also drag the slider in the upper right to the "On" position.
You will have to do the same with Apple devices: go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and use the buttons to turn location tracking back on.
What do you think? Do the benefits of location services outweigh the potential hassles that can arise from using them? Share your opinion in the comments!
User: Not possible, GPS will eat battery
Junior: it's possible, use Geofences
Senior: there are better options
In the picture, first in one direction, and then in the other direction, 6 identical phones “walked” simultaneously with one person. But what a different result!
Geolocation is used in a variety of tasks. Let's take the not uncommon scenario when the user's coordinates themselves are not interesting, but it is extremely important to know when he enters certain geographic radii. The range of applications where it is needed is very wide - from store lists and geo-games to logistics and security.
In our case, this scenario is complicated by three absolutely mutually exclusive things:
- Small radius. It is required to determine the fact of the user entering a fairly small area radius - 500 meters.
- High probability. We need a strongly non-zero probability that the user will not miss the radius. Considering that now there may be a “corkless” time of day and he is driving a car, everything becomes rather sad.
- Minimum power consumption. An important point for any application, but what's worse is that we are not developing an application, but an SDK that should be built into other applications. Other developers trust us, and in case of problems, they will suffer first of all, it is their applications that will be downvoted by users or deleted. Therefore, the requirements for energy consumption are the highest.
So, there is a problem. But is there a solution?
It is worth noting that this material is not about isolated thoughts or just some set of experiences that would not withstand real use, but about a technology that was implemented on the basis of the data received and is used in practice.As in the formula “time-price-development resources”, only two parameters can be reduced, so we must sacrifice something. Considering that 500 meters is basically a constant, let's "let go" a little down from 1.0 the probability of determining the entry into the radius.
Without GPS enabled, find out when the user will pass the red radius. Really?
Initially, there are essentially three basic options - a boxed solution from Google using Geofences, using Google Services built into Android with its own algorithm, or using an open geo-API, again with its own algorithm.
Obviously, you need to run it all in conditions close to combat. And since it will still require significant time costs, at the same time we will test some marginal options.
Participants in the race to the bottom
1. Google Services Passive mode- receiving only accesses to GEO data cached by the system from other applications. These can be both Network location calls - Wi-Fi in passive and active mode, cell tower monitoring, and the use of GPS.2. Google Services GPS- good old all-devouring GPS
3. Mylnikov Provider- implementation using an open API for Wi-Fi networks from mylnikov (I want to say a huge thank you right away for numerous consultations and useful articles). Uses an API that works on a base aggregated from several geobases over Wi-Fi. It is especially interesting in those cases when you want to avoid using the ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION and ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION permissions (only ACCESS_WIFI_STATE is enough), since it directly uses lists of Wi-Fi networks. True, for Android 6.0 this is no longer very relevant, since now ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION is also required to scan networks.
4. Google Services Geofences- closed implementation of Google to determine if the user is within the radius; allows you to define geographic areas, upon entering which the application will catch the corresponding event. Of the obvious disadvantages - it allows you to make only 100 radii, which for some tasks may not be enough and will require programming nested (or "expanding") radii. On most devices, it only uses Network location (Wi-Fi + cell towers).
5. Google Services Combined mode- balanced Google Services Passive mode + forced request for coordinates via Wi-Fi and cell towers, if we see that the relevance of the cached data no longer suits us.
6. i402- implementation of 402 Targeting Rus: Google Services Combined mode + adaptive check frequency adjustment mode (from 1 minute to 24 hours) depending on the user's distance from the nearest radius
We calibrate
For testing, you need sets of 7 identical phone models. All phones are taken new, without additional software installed. For more realistic testing of Google Services Passive mode, on the contrary, it would be right to install additional software, but this would introduce unpredictable interference and seriously complicate testing.Each cycle of both calibration and testing begins with a full charge of the phones. All measurements are made at a temperature not lower than +15.
Calibration takes a week, which again allows you to be sure that the batteries of all phones have “swung” and come to a stable state.
The calibration process is carried out in two steps
Stage #12. Waiting 24 hours.
3. Removal of data on the residual charge.
Stage #2
1. The settings and software of all instances are in the same state, the phones are charged and placed in the same conditions.
2. SIM cards of the same mobile operator are inserted into all phones.
3. Waiting 24 hours.
4. Removal of data on the residual charge.
Steps #1 and #2 were completed in a total of five cycles on all specimens.
According to the results, a phone with abnormal power consumption was identified, it is taken out of testing.
Help in working with devices is provided by the fact that one of the team leaders at one time had experience of participating in a project that was both odious and immersed in technical details, where crash tests were made of both push-button mobiles and smartphones-iPhones. There, measurements of the energy efficiency of smartphones were also made - albeit at extreme temperatures.
6 apps in 2 days
It's always nice to write something small that immediately starts to live. 6 builds of one simplest Android application have been prepared, using different algorithms for collecting geodata. Each build includes an implementation of an algorithm variant, a start/stop button, full step-by-step logging, and an instance and build health indicator.The indicator is a short beep once a minute, essentially a squeak. Because of this, a test bag filled with test instances continuously makes strange noises. Fortunately for our difficult and dangerous time, the sounds of the street and transport completely drown out the continuous squeak of our wards around us. At the same time, the squeak helps a lot both at the initial stage of debugging to understand whether the assembly has hung, and at subsequent stages - to determine whether the battery has run out in a particular instance and whether the system has decided to put a particular application to sleep. After all, turning on a gluttonous screen to clarify the situation when performing testing is an unaffordable luxury and a huge tip.
All assemblies, except #4 and #5, request coordinates every 10 minutes. On the one hand, this is a big assumption, because a user on transport can easily cross a radius of 500 meters in much less time. On the other hand, and as the future will confirm, even checking once every 10 minutes will lead to catastrophic power consumption for the "marginals" and all hope will be solely on smart algorithms.
Test dance!
Each instance of the kit installs its own build of the test application. One copy in the kit is in the control group and therefore receives a placebo. That is, nothing is installed on it.The input data for all instances remains common: a common cellular operator, a common route, a common tester's rag bag. The rag is chosen specifically for the absence of possible pickups on the received signals.
Routes are built on different terrains both in urban areas and outside the city. There are routes by car, transport, subway, walking routes. There is even a route on the ground with no Wi-Fi by definition and cellular communication at the limit - the expanse of Lake Ladoga, remote from the shores.
In this cycle, the most difficult thing was not to drown the tester's bag during the storm that had begun.
Results?
Field research takes more than two weeks to complete. The output of each algorithm is evaluated in terms of two parameters:ACCURACY - expert assessment on a 5-point scale in comparison with the standard (the more the better).
How Accuracy Is Determined
After each testing cycle, the logs of each instance are uploaded, the geodata are converted and displayed on Google Maps. Based on the standard, i.e. real documented route, the expert manually evaluates the amount of deviation from it, puts down an estimate, and also issues a textual justification. The expert assessment is checked and confirmed by the second expert.
It is impossible to calculate the deviation value in an automated mode due to the non-determinism of the wake-up timer in Android and the subsequent desynchronization of devices, as well as the complexity of many routes - for example, turning left twice in a relatively short time interval for the algorithm or “teleportation using the subway”.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY - the percentage of the battery charge of the device after the completion of the test cycle is reduced to a total 10-point scale (the more the better) from 0 (the worst charge level of the kit instances in the cycle) to 10 (the best level of the kit instances in the cycle).
Why is a profiler not used to determine energy efficiency?
Because of their distrust. The power consumption of a particular application, shown in the phone settings, or the readings of specialized software, one way or another, includes a set of errors and assumptions. Since we were interested in raw data, we tried to focus on the basic parameters. Given the complete identity of the copies in the kit, the absence of third-party software and preliminary calibration, the permissible error did not exceed the required measurement accuracy.
Below are the average values of the parameters. Median values are not given, because due to the repeatability of the tests, they are close to the average.
1.Google Services Passive mode
ACCURACY: 3.4 (4th)ENERGY EFFICIENCY: 4.3 (5th)
Average in accuracy. Allows you to determine the overall trajectory of the route. In terms of energy efficiency, the penultimate one, but far ahead of the last participant - GPS (4.3 vs. 2.1). Accuracy strongly depends on whether there is third-party software on the smartphone, or there is almost nothing to cache the system. If the latter, then the system can only cache its own periodic system requests. We remember that the corporation of good saves our every step, don't we?
Unfortunately, in most cases, it is impossible to write in the TOR of your own program “we are counting on the fact that there will be many different programs on the phone and they will often access geodata.”
2. Google Services GPS
ACCURACY: 4.6 (2nd place)ENERGY EFFICIENCY: 2.1 (6th)
It shows predictably excellent accuracy (except for the metro), but it is also predictably expensive: in all tests it showed the worst energy efficiency.
3. Mylnikov Provider (Wi-Fi only)
ACCURACY: 2.2 (6th)ENERGY EFFICIENCY: 6.2 (3rd place)
The low accuracy result is explained by the presence of routes outside the city where there are no Wi-Fi networks. Simultaneously with the use of cell tower API, it can show good accuracy and low power consumption.
4. Google Services Geofences
ACCURACY: 5.0 (1st)ENERGY EFFICIENCY: 6.8 (2nd place)
Stable statistics for the qualitative determination of fens with a radius of 500 meters. It is worth warning that testing was not carried out on fens of a smaller radius. Judging by some experiments of foreign colleagues, and by the documentation itself, with fens less than 150, there may be problems with accuracy and / or power consumption will increase significantly.
But even at 500 meters, power consumption could be lower, given that this is a system function.
5. Google Services Combined mode
ACCURACY: 3.6 (3rd)ENERGY EFFICIENCY: 5.5 (4th place)
Had errors relative to the reference GPS, but generally stable. Power consumption could be better.
6.i402
ACCURACY: 3.1 (5th)ENERGY EFFICIENCY: 8.5 (1st)
It showed a predictably poor approximation in areas far from the location of the radii, since in places far from the radii it reduced the frequency of checks - for which it received a low rating. At the same time, it outperformed competitors in energy efficiency, in 2 long tests (more than a day) it showed savings of more than 5-7% of the battery charge from the nearest competitor. When solving the basic task - checking the entry into the radius - it almost always catches those walking and with sufficient probability - those traveling.
Total
In the first place in terms of the combination of ACCURACY / ENERGY EFFICIENCY were still Google Services Geofences. But even if they became winners in energy efficiency, the fact that they took second place based on the scenario we require is unacceptable. Out of the box solutions will help only for standard scenarios, because in the case of advanced options, only you can take into account the nuances of the requirements and the specifics of your application.Further, the main peloton of participants settled down, in terms of energy efficiency it left GPS far behind and provided sufficient accuracy. Please note that one of the participants in principle refused to dope GPS (Mylnikov Provider), and the other four, not counting the GPS itself, will use its data only if some other application on the smartphone requires high-precision coordinates.
GPS, goodbye?
In the course of tests and testing of various options, a simple idea was confirmed - GPS is not needed to determine an acceptable location accuracy in a city. In any case, if we are talking about a million-plus city and if your users do not use applications mainly in wastelands, remote from residential areas.Try turning off GPS in your phone settings and open Yandex.Maps - they will determine your location quite accurately. And even when Wi-Fi is turned off - only if the scan of Wi-Fi networks is not disabled in the settings (appeared starting with Android 4.3). But most users have it enabled.
Open Google Maps - and your location will be determined even more accurately. Install some Wi-Fi networks tracker and walk or drive around the city - your smartphone will hook thousands of Wi-Fi networks.
We asked the commercial director to install a Wi-Fi network tracker for a day.
Depending on the quality of the source (Google or open bases) and the terrain of the city, the accuracy of Wi-Fi is about 30-50 meters. Agree that this is an order of magnitude better than cellular networks, which in the city have an accuracy of no more than 300-400 meters.
For most applications, an accuracy of 30-50 meters is sufficient, and therefore it is absolutely not necessary to pull the all-devouring GPS. When the GPS instance remained at 15% charge in some long tests, the best competitor had 57% charge - feel the difference!
So what about the solution?
Specifically, i402 was chosen for industrial implementation - now it is used in one of the 3rd generation mobile advertising networks (Habr: Advertising Networks 3.0).i402 is, let me remind you, a combination of the following:
- receiving system-cached accesses to GEO data from other applications (including GPS data, if some other application included it)
- explicit request for coordinates via Wi-Fi and/or cell towers if the cached data is out of date
- floating frequency of an explicit request depending on the user's distance from the nearest radius
To implement adaptability and intelligence, many other interesting tasks had to be solved, such as the fight against the "teleportation" of the subway or the "teleportation" of airports (after all, it is more difficult to predict where a person entering the subway will be in 30 minutes than to do the same for a motorist who is usually stuck in traffic jams). ) and, say, come up with a multiplier for the value of the period of updating the coordinates at rest. And also to learn, without the help of voracious sensors, to determine whether a person is walking, traveling by transport or in his own car. But about this - in a separate article.
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If you are wondering how you can turn off the location, then you have come to the right place. This need arises for those who use Android, iOS smartphones and Windows computers.
Of course, geolocation- a very useful feature, but in some cases you don’t really want the “big brother” to follow us (this is from the work “1984” by J. Orwell).
So, let's proceed to the shutdown procedure on various devices.
Android smartphones and tablets
Initially, you can turn off geolocation using the function menu, which opens with a swipe from the top. Step by step, this process is as follows:
1Open the function menu. To do this, swipe from top to bottom, that is, just move your finger.
2There will be items for the Internet, flight mode, flashlight and, in fact, the location. Just click on the item "Geolocation". It will stop glowing. This will mean that it is disabled.
Important! This item may be referred to as "Location", and "Geolocation". It all depends on the version of the operating system.
3If you want to delete the location history, i.e. the places where you have been, from the device memory, you need to hold this item in the function menu. The location settings window will open. You can also turn this feature on and off there. This is done by moving the switch to the position "On"(when the switch is green) or "Off"(when it's white). At the bottom there will be "Story…", which makes it possible to erase this data.
But this procedure still won't stop Google from tracking where you are or even what you're doing. To completely get rid of the influence of this "evil" company, one more thing to do:
1Go to settings. This shortcut is located on the desktop. In some versions, it is also in the same menu of additional functions, which is opened by swiping from top to bottom (in the form of a gear in the upper right corner).
2In the settings, find the item "My location". It is in the section "Personal data".
3There will be two inscriptions - "According to the coordinates of the series" and "According to GPS satellites". It is best to uncheck the boxes next to each of them. Only in this case, no one will be able to follow you in any way.
It is worth noting that some devices do not have the ability to work with satellites. Therefore, if you follow all the steps in the list above, but do not find the corresponding item in the menu, this is quite normal. You should not look for it in any other places and settings sections.
Now let's move on to the same procedure, but on "apple" smartphones and tablets.
Smartphones and tablets on iOS
It is worth saying that everything is much more interesting here. The fact is that in iOS, many more applications use the determination of the user's position on the map than in Android. But disabling this feature is also easy here. It's done like this:
- Go to settings. On iOS, the corresponding shortcut is also on the desktop.
- In the settings, open the item "Privacy". This section contains all the settings related to the user's personal data.
- Next open "Location Services".
- In an open window, there will be a switch next to the same inscription. You need to make sure that he is in position "Off", that is, it was white. If it is not, press the switch and the location will turn off.
- You will be prompted to perform this action. It will contain a warning about the possible consequences of disabling the user's location. We will return to this. So, in this query, you need to click the button "Switch off".
- Close settings. The changes will take effect immediately.
As regards the consequences of the actions described above, which are referred to in the disconnection request, they boil down to the fact that the function "Find iPhone" will become unavailable. It is intended for cases when the user loses his device or has it stolen from him.
With the function enabled, you can easily determine where the device is located, and even see it on the map. In addition, some applications will not work or some of their functions will become unavailable. In fact, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. So feel free to press "Switch off" in the request and move on.
The procedure described above was done on the iPhone (as you can see from the screenshots), but on the iPad it will be performed in exactly the same way.
In this case, Apple will also be able to follow you, even if the location is disabled. Therefore, it is necessary to perform a number of actions, namely, to erase the "frequently visited places", remove the Spotlight search, and so on. The full process of disabling geolocation is shown in the video below.
Windows computers
In Windows 10, this feature is enabled by default. The purpose of the manufacturer is the same as in other cases - the collection of information about the user. The system keeps track of where he was, what he did, asks for feedback, and so on.
In principle, there is nothing wrong with this, but some users decide to turn off this feature - either to save battery power, or because they are afraid of “big brother” surveillance.
Anyway, this service can be disabled and this is done as follows:
1Go to the menu "Start" and open there "Settings". If your interface is in English, then the settings will be called "Settings".
2Go to the section "Confidentiality" or "Privacy". A new window will open in which you will need to go to the "Location" or "Location" section.
3There you can turn off this feature for specific applications or for the entire OS. To do this, there is a list of programs and a slider next to each of them, as well as another slider under the inscription "Location" or Location. They can be placed in "On" or Off.
Important! All this is extremely important to do from under an account that has administrator rights. Please note that even if you work from the same account all the time, this does not mean at all that this is an administrator.
You can learn more about obtaining administrator rights in the video below.
As you can see, everything is done quite simply, but in different versions of Windows, the shutdown process may look different. Figure 5 shows the disabling of geolocation on the "top ten". On Windows 8, it looks exactly the same.
But as for Windows 7, location is possible there only if the computer has the right sensor. Accordingly, in order to disable the service in question, it is necessary to disable this very sensor. This is done as follows:
- Open the menu "Start" and enter the query "sensor" in the search bar. That will be the easiest.
- The list above will display all the programs and services associated with that word. You take "Enable location sensor and other sensors". In principle, you can initially enter a query to search for a given service, rather than entering the word "sensor".
- If there are no sensors in the system, the list will be empty. And if there is, next to each on the right there will be (or not be) a checkmark, which indicates that this sensor is working. Actually, you only need to uncheck the box next to the geolocation sensor.
It is worth saying that not every ordinary user can determine which sensor does what by name. Therefore, you will have to look on the Internet by the name of the sensor for its functionality. Most often, the official website has all the necessary information.
To check if the location function works in Windows 7, you need to in the menu "Start" enter the request "sensor" and open the program "View Placement Actions". Again, you can immediately enter the name of this service in the search bar.
In the open window, you need to look at the section "Location Actions". If there will be 0 events, then the position is not determined and not sent to the corporation. Accordingly, if there is something, you can view the list of actions.
There is no such service in Ubuntu, because the manufacturer does not need data about where users are and what they are doing. So there is no way to turn it off.
"I can not!"
In this case, write to us. Also, if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments.