Why you should never use Location Services

There are a great number of apps out there that are programmed to be able to track your location. Things like Maps, running trackers, and some Social Media can figure out where you are. Here’s the thing; I don’t like location services. Everyone is freaked out by the technological advances that we have come out with on one level or another. This “tin hat” style behaviour is usually aimed at the front-facing cameras on your devices or putting too much personal information on Social media. For me, I would prefer for app developers not to be able to track my location whenever they want. It’s my own personal “tin hat,” and I don’t believe that there is a good reason for apps to be tracking my every movement. Because of this, I have developed a few different strategies for dealing with the apps that ask for location services.

Don’t turn them on (you don’t need them for the most part)

Whenever you download a new app, seven times out of ten, they will ask if the app can use location services. I rarely allow that to happen. I don’t turn the ability on. It amazes me how many apps can use location services. For 90% of them, there is no reason that they would need location services, at least no good reason. The one that boggled my mind for a long time was why any of the games on the phones/tablets would need to have access to location services. It took me a while to figure it out, but it’s because the game companies use targetted ads to help make money on their games. This is something that is done with free games. Part of their revenue comes from in-game purchases, but they also make money on click-through adds. If someone clicks a link on a game and buys something, then the game gets a small fee. For you to get an ad for something in your area, they need to be able to know where you are. I don’t like those ads, so I keep Location services off as much as possible.

Go into settings periodically and make sure they are turned off

All of your Apps get updates. They could be software patches, new content, or it could be things that will allow them to add new features to the app. What I like to do every once and a while is go into my settings app and make sure that the location services are still off. Yes, when there is an OS (or Operating Software) update, where some things can and will be reset to their factory settings. Location Services is (by default) turned on. When it’s turned on, the apps like to jump on that bus as well. For this, I would go every once and a while to look into your settings to make sure that Location Services didn’t get switched back on the next time you update your phone’s OS. PLEASE NOTE!!!! This will not happen while you are updating the apps themselves; they don’t have the power to turn your phone’s location services.

DO NOT allow Bluetooth authorization from apps

The Apps are getting sneakier about how they access location services. The newest trick is asking to use your Bluetooth settings. Using Bluetooth seems fairly benign, but what ends up happening is that when your device connects to a wifi network, the Apps are using the Bluetooth to contact their home servers, which gives them at least a general location to work with. I first learned about this from an article put out by the Verge (Link to the article here), which made me aware of this. Since I read that article, I have had two different apps ask for my permission to use my Bluetooth. These apps were games that had no business and no good reason to need my location at all. I obviously said, “no way.”

I’ll be perfectly honest with you. I do use location services for a minimal number of apps. I use them for Maps when I get lost, and for some of the exercise apps that I use when I go for a long walk. I like being able to track my progress and make sure that I get some information on how well I did. The thing about the apps that ask for location services is that you can use them, but I would advise caution in using them. What I like to do if I think I’m going to want to use the location services in an app is only use it while the app is turned on. This is an option that most apps that ask you for location services can do, and what it means is that location services only work when the app is open. So all you need to do is make sure that that is your setting for the app you want to use with their location services, and then make sure you close the app once you’re done. That way (if you’re concerned about being tracked), you won’t be tracked when you’re not using the app. Typically, there is nothing wrong with location services. If you’re like me and only want to use it sparingly, then the “Only use when the app is open” option is an excellent alternative so that when you want to use it, it’s there. When you don’t, then the location services are turned off.

Last year, I took a couple of months off from the blog to make sure I got everything sorted out properly. This year I’m proud to say that I was way more organized with my time so that I have been able to post continuously throughout the year. That being said, I know that it’s holiday time, and I want to “take some time” as it were, so this will be the last post for 2019. This has been an excellent year for me, and I would like to thank you to my readers for sticking with me. I’ve picked up a few subscribers and to those of you who’ve joined us, thank you so much. I hope that you have gotten some value out of that. I’ve got a whole bunch of stuff planned for the new year; we’ll be talking about Information Inflow, doing a deeper dive on Cloud systems and how to manage that, and a few posts on personal computer maintenance, to name a few things. I’ve had a great time this year, and I certainly hope you have too. I can’t wait to go deeper into subjects and topics which will help you Organize your Digital Life.

For now; Peace out; Happy Holidays! and I’ll see you next year! 

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