Why does Google need location information on Maps?

If you want to get from A to B, it’s quicker to have your phone tell us where you are than to have you figure out your address or location. Location information helps in many other ways, like helping us figure out how heavy traffic is.

If you choose to enable location sharing, your phone will send anonymous bits of information back to Google. This is combined with anonymous data from people around you to recognize traffic patterns.

This only happens for people who turn location history on. It is off by default. If you turn it on but then change your mind, you can visit Your Data in Maps -- a single place for people to manage Google account location settings.

The Google support page for managing your Location History says that once you turn it off, “the places you go are no longer stored. When you turn off Location History for your Google Account, it’s off for all devices associated with that Google Account.”

You can see a summary of what Google services you use and the data saved in your account from your Google Dashboard. There are also powerful privacy controls like Activity Controls and Ad Settings, which allow you to switch the collection and use of data on or off to decide how all of Google can work better for you. 

To actually turn off location tracking, users must navigate to a little-known setting called Web & App Activity. “Leaving ‘Web & App Activity on and turning ‘Location History’ off only prevents Google from adding your movements to the ‘timeline,’ its visualization of your daily travels,” the AP reported. “It does not stop Google’s collection of other location markers.”

While there are completely benign reasons for Google to track your location—such as recommending nearby restaurants or giving you an accurate weather report—Google also uses the information to more accurately advertise where you are and what you’re doing.

Though Google insisted that “users have the controls to edit, delete, or turn [Location History] off at any time” in an email to Quartz, finding the controls actually to stop the company from tracking your location is less than intuitive. Here’s how:

In a web browser (mobile or desktop)

1. Go to myaccount.google.com
2. Sign in to your Google Account in the upper-right corner of your browser
3. Go to Personal Info & Privacy and choose Go to My Activity
4. In the left-hand navigation bar, click Activity Controls, where you’ll see Web & App Activity
5. Toggle Web & App Activity off
6. Scroll down and toggle Location History off as well

   In Google Maps for Apple iOS devices

   1. Tap on your Google Account (in the left-hand navigation bar)
   2. Tap Manage your Google Account and then Personal info and privacy
   3. Please scroll down to My Activity, which will open your settings in a web browser
   4. In the left-hand navigation bar, click Activity Controls, where you’ll see Web & App Activity
   5. Toggle Web & App Activity off
   6. Scroll down and toggle Location History off as well

   On an Android device

   1. Go to the Settings app
   2. Tap on Google settings
   3. Tap Google Account (Info, security & personalization)
   4. Tap on the Data & personalization tab
   5. Tap on Web & App Activity
   6. Toggle Web & App Activity off
   7. Scroll down and toggle Location History off as wel