Imagine if a data broker knows your phone is on a nightstand next to another phone six nights a week and across town on the seventh night. That data broker also knows everywhere you go and how long you stay there. Creepy.

Want to be shocked? If you have an iPhone, hidden deep in its settings is something Apple calls “Significant Locations.”

You might be wondering, “How is this tracking happening?” You let it. Install an app, and in the legalese, it says the app developer has the right to share or transfer data collected from users with third-party entities, including advertisers, marketers, or data brokers. 

You might also have a snoopy partner, stalker, or family member tracking your location. I’ll help you make it stop.

Apps can use location tracking in various ways. 

Some apps offer options to limit location tracking or to turn it off entirely. It’s simple to fiddle with these settings, but you must be thorough. You may have already turned off location tracking on your phone but didn’t do the same with your laptop. It defeats the purpose.

I’ll walk you through how to change your device and account settings across many major players.

Your Google account is tied to various apps and services, so let’s start there.

As the name implies, Location History saves your location wherever you take your phone. It’s off by default, but you may have turned it on and forgotten about it. No problem. Here’s how to turn it off:

One last super important thing: Open up Devices on this account to see a list of devices saving your location. Select Turn off to disable any devices you don’t want to track you.

Location Sharing lets you share your location from your devices with people you choose. You may be using this setting with your loved ones, but it’s worth checking.

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Location Services has two parts: A global setting to stop sharing your location with Apple and individual settings for each app you have installed on your iPhone. 

Let’s go over the controls for this service:

Location Sharing lets you share your location with family and friends in Messages, Find My, and other services.

Cookies aren’t just used on your computer to keep track of your passwords, shopping carts, and everything else. They’re on your phone, too. You can wipe them out.

Choose between turning off location tracking completely or fine-tuning each app’s setting.

You may have shared your location with friends and family through Google Maps. Here’s how to check if you’re doing that without realizing it.

You can turn location services off entirely on your Windows PC or for individual apps. This step is smart to do, especially if you have a laptop you take with you on the go.

Here’s how to change location services for your Mac: