How to Turn Off Location on Smartphones and Tablets: Complete Guide

This guide will explain how to disable location services on your mobile device, an action useful for protecting your privacy and limiting the tracking of your movements. Geolocation is a feature that allows apps to access your location, but sharing this information can expose your data to security and privacy risks.

This procedure is particularly useful for those who want to:

• Avoid apps collecting and sharing data about your location.
• Limit location access only to necessary apps, such as navigators.
• Protect your privacy and prevent tracking of your movements.

By following this guide, you will learn how to completely disable GPS or manage location permissions app by app, depending on your needs.

Prerequisites

• Smartphone or tablet with Android operating system
• Access to device settings
• Internet connection (optional, for updates or checks)

How to disable location services on Samsung smartphones

Follow these steps to completely disable location services or modify the permissions of individual apps on your Samsung smartphone.

• Perform a swipe from the top right edge of the screen downward to open the quick settings panel.
• Find the button labeled Location and tap it to disable location services. If you don't see it among the visible ones, first touch the icon that allows you to view more buttons.
• Alternatively, open the Settings app (gear icon) and tap on Location.
• Slide the switch dedicated to location services to OFF.
• To modify the permissions of individual apps, tap on App permissions in the same screen.
• Select the name of the app of interest and choose the option that denies access to the location.
• In the same section, find the Recent access entry to discover which applications have recently requested information about your location.
• To minimize tracking, also check the Location services section, which allows the device to use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functions to increase the accuracy of location information.

How to disable location services on Xiaomi smartphones

• Perform a swipe from the top right corner of the screen downward to open the Control Center.
• Find the button labeled Location services and tap it to turn it off.
• If you don't find the button among the available ones, scroll the grid to the bottom, press the Edit button, and in the Edit and order screen that opens, scroll down to the System commands section.
• Tap the + symbol next to the Location services entry to move the button among the active ones, and confirm the choice with the checkmark placed at the top right.
• Press Show all to open the complete list and, if you want system components to appear as well, tap the More button at the bottom and choose the Show system option.
• Find the application of interest, tap its name to open the App info screen, and select the App permissions entry located in the Permissions section.
• Scroll the Authorized list to the Location entry.

VERIFICATION AND TROUBLESHOOTING: How to test if it works and what to do if it fails

After disabling location services on your device, it is important to verify that the settings have been applied correctly and to know how to proceed in case of problems.

Verification of location services deactivation

• Check via maps app: Open a maps app like Google Maps or Waze. If location services are disabled, the app should not be able to detect your current location.
• Quick settings check: Open your device's quick settings panel. If location services are disabled, the button related to location should be disabled or show a clear indication.
• App permissions check: Go to your device settings and verify that location permissions have been removed from the selected apps.

Troubleshooting

• Location services still active: If location services seem still active, restart the device and check the settings again. Make sure you have disabled both GPS and location services.
• Apps requesting location services: Some apps may request access to location services again after an update or restart. Periodically check app permissions.
• Issues with emergency services: Remember that even with location services disabled, the device may send the location to emergency services in case of a call or SMS to an emergency number.

If you follow these steps, you should be able to verify that location services have been correctly disabled and resolve any problems that may arise.

Educational Summary and Call to Action

• You have discovered how to completely disable GPS on Android, both via the quick settings panel and through the Settings app.
• You have seen how to manage location permissions on Samsung and Xiaomi devices, two of the most widespread brands.

Now that you know these steps, put them into practice to improve your security and privacy. Always remember to check the permissions requested by apps before installing them and to periodically update location settings.