Do Apps Have Access to Your Location 24/7?
You might think you have a handle on your Android apps’ permissions settings. But what about those pesky apps using your location in the background?
Granting access to location data for navigation apps or weather apps is often a no-brainer. These applications make life exponentially easier for users all in exchange for access to location data. On the surface, this trade-off doesn’t seem to be a dangerous one. But do you know what happens to these location-based apps once they’re closed? Do they really shut off, or are they still accessing and recording location data in the background? Click here to use memory booster to close background apps that are accessing your location:
According to security experts, many of these background apps will be used to consistently monitor and collect user location data given the right permissions, often without user knowledge. When turning on location services, regardless of how trusted the individual app is, make sure to enable the advanced protection function within dfndr. This added layer of protection will reinforce the security surrounding private user data. Click here to enable Advanced Protection on your phone:
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Both GPS and Network Provider Location Services can be used by developers to track location in the background. So even when apps with location permissions enabled are closed and cleared, they still might be recording location data without the user’s knowledge. In addition to stealing and sharing sensitive user data, this process also depletes phone battery. GPS tracking, in particular, is battery intensive, and continued background tracking could have serious implications for the battery life of an Android.
In the past, two internationally known and widely used apps were exposed for collecting user data consistently in the background. In 2013, TechCrunch exposed Google’s Location History tool, an older tool that logs user location on any date, at any time, for Google’s use. Though the tool is optional, Google patrons are simply asked to share location, unaware that their every move was being recorded.
Similarly, in 2016, Uber launched an update of its ride-sharing app that requested permission to access location data at all times. This updated permissions setting allowed the company to track riders for five minutes after the ride ended.
The Solution
Luckily, there’s an easy fix for apps collecting location data while running in the background on your Android phone. Android users must turn off both “Location Reporting” as well as “Location History” to prevent further location tracking. To do so, open the app drawer and scroll to “Settings.” Tap “Location” and then tap the specific “Location Settings” you wish to disable. Make sure to turn the toggle off for both “Location Reporting” and “Location History.” For phone users looking to further safeguard their location data, tap “Delete Location History” underneath “Location History.”