INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Even if you have Location History off, Google often stores your precise location
Here's how to delete those markers and some best-effort practices that keep your location as private as possible.But there's no panacea,
because simply connecting to the Internet on any device flags an IP address that can be geographically mapped
Smartphones also connect to cell towers, so your carrier knows your general location at all times.How to stop Google from tracking you1
For any device:Fire up your browser and go to myactivity.google.com
(You'll need to be logged into Google) On the upper left drop-down menu, go to Activity Controls
Turn off both Web App Activity and Location History
That should prevent precise location markers from being stored to your Google account.Google will warn you that some of its services won't
work as well with these settings off
In particular, neither the Google Assistant, a digital concierge, nor the Google Home smart speaker will be particularly useful.2
On Android:Under the main settings icon click on Security location, scroll down to Privacy heading and tap Location
You can toggle it off for the entire device.Use App-level permissions to turn off access to various apps
Unlike the iPhone, there is no setting for While Using
You cannot turn off Google Play services, which supplies your location to other apps if you leave that service on.Sign in as a guest on your
Android device by swiping down from top and tapping the downward-facing caret, then again on the torso icon
Be aware of which services you sign in on, like Chrome.You can also change search engines even in Chrome.3
On iOS:If you use Google Maps, adjust your location setting to While Using the App; this will prevent the app from accessing your location
Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and from there select Google Maps to make the adjustment.In the Safari web browser, consider
using a search engine other than Google
Under Settings Safari Search Engine, you can find other options like Bing or DuckDuckGo
You can turn location off while browsing by going to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Safari Websites, and turn this to Never
(This still won't prevent advertisers from knowing your rough location based on IP address on any website).You can also turn Location
Services off to the device almost completely from Settings > Privacy > Location Services
Both Google Maps and Apple Maps will still work, but they won't know where you are on the map and won't be able to give you directions
Emergency responders will still be able to find you if the need arises.How to delete past location tracking Google has on youOn the page
myactivity.google.com, look for any entry that has a location pin icon beside Details
Clicking on that pops up a window that includes a link that sometimes says From your current location
Clicking on it will open Google Maps, which will display where you were at the time.You can delete it from this popup by clicking on the
navigation icon with the three stacked dots and then Delete.Some items will be grouped in unexpected places, such as topic names,
google.com, Search, or Maps
You have to delete them item by item
You can wholesale delete all items in date ranges or by service, but will end up taking out more than just location markers.
