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how to turn off google location history

You can turn off Google Location History from either the Google Maps app or your Google Account settings on the web. Doing this stops new Location History entries from being saved for that account, but it does not delete past data or stop all other location tracking features.

What Location History Actually Is

  • Location History saves where your signed‑in devices go to build things like your Timeline, commute predictions, and personalized map suggestions.
  • It is a per‑account setting, not tied to a single phone, so changes affect any device signed in with that Google account where Location History is enabled.

Turn Off Location History on Android

The exact wording can vary slightly by Android version and manufacturer, but the flow is roughly:

  1. Open the Google app or go to Settings > Google on your phone.
  1. Tap your profile picture and choose Manage your Google Account.
  1. Go to the Data & privacy tab.
  1. Scroll to History settings and tap Location History.
  1. Toggle Location History off or tap Turn off / Pause and confirm in the pop‑up.

Once paused, Google stops adding new entries to your Location History Timeline for that account.

Turn Off Location History on iPhone

If you mainly use Google apps on iOS, you need to change both account‑level and iOS‑level permissions.

  1. In any Google app (Google app or Maps), tap your profile picture.
  2. Select Manage your Google Account.
  1. Go to Data & privacy > History settings > Location History.
  1. Turn Location History off / pause it and confirm.

To further cut tracking from the device side:

  • Open iOS Settings > Google Maps > Location and choose While Using the App or Never , depending on how strict you want to be.

Turn Off Location History on Desktop (Web)

  1. Open a browser and go to your Google Account page (for example, accounts.google.com) and sign in.
  2. In the left menu, choose Data & privacy.
  1. Scroll to the History settings section and click Location History.
  1. Use the switch to turn it off, then click Pause when prompted.

You can also reach the same control via the My Activity / Activity Controls area of your account.

Delete Existing Location History (Optional but Important)

Turning Location History off does not erase what is already stored. To clean up past data:

Using Google Maps app (mobile)

  1. Open Google Maps and tap your profile picture.
  2. Tap Your Timeline.
  1. Open the menu and choose options to delete:
    • A specific day or
    • All time (delete your entire Location History).

You can also delete visits to specific places from the Timeline view.

Using account settings

  1. In your Google Account under Data & privacy > History settings > Location History, look for Delete Location History or Auto-delete options.
  1. Choose to:
    • Delete activity for a custom date range or
    • Set auto‑delete for data older than 3, 18, or 36 months.

Deleting is permanent and can remove useful memory aids (like remembering a hotel or restaurant you visited).

Important Privacy Gotchas

  • Even with Location History off, Google can still derive location via other settings, especially Web & App Activity and device‑level location permissions.
  • To tighten privacy:
    • Review Web & App Activity in the same History settings section and consider pausing it too.
* On Android, turn off extras like **Wi‑Fi scanning** , **Bluetooth scanning** , and **Google Location Accuracy** if you want to reduce non‑GPS tracking methods.

Mini‑TL;DR:
Turn off Location History in your Google Account under Data & privacy → History settings → Location History → Turn off/Pause, then optionally delete your Timeline and review other activity controls for stronger privacy.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.