[Privacy] How do we turn off Google's (recent?) employment of cell-tower geolocation data in the Google Maps app?

Put the phone in airplane mode?

I just found out that MY location is picked up by google maps only via wifi+location services. With wifi off and cell service+location services on it can't see me.

Am 22.09.23 um 03:29 schrieb Wally J:

Arlen, you are the wisenheimer of this group. Epic fail.

Not answering your question, but don't forget that Google can find you even with location supposedly turned off. "Personal Safety" recently appeared in my list of system apps during an update (it might already have been there and in use but didn't appear until the update). Under the section "Crisis alerts", it states "Personal safety uses your device's location to find info about the crises affecting your area, even when the app is closed or not in use.". There is a link to "learn more". This opens another help page apparently relating to Pixel phones. It notes I am using a custom version of Android, and that the "steps might not apply". The page is at:

There is a long section in "Get help during an emergency" about "Send your location automatically". It starts "Your phone uses Emergency Location Service (ELS) only when you call or text and emergency number. If your phone has ELS turned on, ELS may use Google Location Services

None of this may be relevant, but it shows that Google can access location information even when its supposedly turned off.

Under Settings > Location > Location Services > Google Location Accuracy there's an "improve location accuracy" toggle, if you turn that off it'll only use GPS without WiFi/Mobile.

Google have billions of android devices, many/most of which will have GPS enabled, those devices can report where they are and which cell-towers they can "see" along with signal strengths. It's not hard for them to build a database of towers from that.

"Wally J" snipped-for-privacy@invalid.nospam wrote

| Does anyone here have more technical information as to how Google Maps | obtains your location using cell tower data as described in this reference? | *How Maps finds your current location*

To carry a cellphone turned on is to wear a tracking collar. You ccan make some adjustments, but if you dopn't want to be tracked then power off your cellphone when you're not using it. To want to keep your location private while using these services is missing the point.

Many services won't work at all without location. Uber, restaurant recommendations, real-time dating apps... Many free app developers get paid by selling your private data.

Do you know about Google geofencing? It's a paying business for them. Some of the Jan 6 rioters were caught that way:

If you want privacy then use maps on a computer and preferably avoid Google maps. I actually wrote my own software that gets Bing maps if I need a map. But of course, most cellphone addicts these days don't know how to read maps, so they use Waze. Once again, an app that's of no use without knowing your location.

Long story short, you've missed the concept of living on a cellphone. Most people who live that way see these intrusions as services. They don't care about privacy. It's like you put an ad in the paper to advertise your yard sale and now you're complaining that people are coming to your house.

Nope. Google Maps doesn't *show* *you* (or someone else?) where you are. There's no proof that *Google* doesn't know where you are.

In modern Android versions, you can no longer really turn off all location determination. All you can do is limit what *your* *apps* can do, but you can not prevent other Google/Android components to determine your location. You can only 'trust' Google to do no evil. Good luck with that!

In the latter case, was 'Mobile data' off or on?

And they removed the "don't be evil" slogan

Well, you can use offline navigation apps on a smartphone and turn on Airplane mode. That way the app will use GPS and there's no possible connection to any 'service'. Guess what I use when in the Outback in Australia? :-) No mobile/Wi-Fi signal in the air anywhere (only satellites).

But in general you're of course right, most people are visible most of the time. *They* might not know where they are, but Google *does*! :-)

I can choose 'airplane mode' on/off and wifi on/off. I hunted around for a 'mobile data'/other choice with no success.

Hmmm!? Strange!? On most phones the 'Mobile data' on/off toggle is on the same panel as the 'Wifi', 'Bluetooth', 'Airplane mode', 'Location', etc. toggles. My panel has 4 pages and I can arrange what goes on which page, so perhaps your 'Mobile data' toggle is not on the main page.

Can someone with a Pixel <whatever> tell Bev where to look for the 'Mobile data' on/off toggle?

Pixel 6a. Settings / Network and Internet / SIMs / Mobile data

The timing of the RF burst returned by your phone gives your approximate range from the cell tower. One tower just gives a ring centred on the tower; the intersections of two or more rings from other towers reduce the uncertainty.

If your phone is on and able to make and receive calls, there's nothing you can do to prevent gathering this information.

It can be used by emergency services to locate callers if GPS data are not available.

David

I would just add that a Mobile Data switch probably isn't actually needed. My phone, a Samsung Galaxy S20FE, doesn't appear to have such a switch, but it does have Airplane Mode, which does the same thing.

If I wanted to disable only Mobile Data, I would have to enable Airplane Mode, which disables mobile data, WiFi, and BT, then manually re-enable WiFi and BT.

Ah. Settings | Mobile network (movistar) | Mobile data on/off and Roaming on/off. Both were on. I was told that Keepgo used T-Mobile and AT&T. When I was setting it up the guy said that it was ok to leave movistar there (as if I had an actual choice). Movistar is a Spanish network and Keepgo is supposedly in Spain. OK...

Mostly I worry about battery drain, but there doesn't seem to be an accurate way of determining the relative usage of wifi-readiness and phone-readiness. If I can get 3 years out of a battery which costs me $60 to have replaced I shouldn't whine. People pay more than $20 for a SANDWICH, for chrissake!

Just think, there are people living today who don't give even half a s*it about any of this stuff -- they just buy a new phone, pay their phone bill and get on with life!

The Real Bev snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote

This might be beyond TheRealBev's interest, but I wrote a few tutorials recently on how to make _everything_ you want to set a single tap.

No longer do you need to dig into the Android settings to change stuff.

Char Jackson snipped-for-privacy@none.invalid wrote

As Frank Slootweg said, every phone I've ever seen has a mobile-data on/off switch - which is usually right next to the other on/off radio switches.

But be advised, there are intelligent settings that can modify that.

For example, on my Android 13 Samsung Galaxy, these are in the setup. Settings > Connections Data usage > Mobile data only apps "Set apps to always use mobile data, even when your phone is connected to Wi-Fi"

In addition, if you're sophisticated user, you can use NetGuard which will prevent some apps (like Google Maps) from using cellular data geolocation.

Both will probably block the Google Maps geolocation of your Wi-Fi address.

So that's how emergency services get your position.. neat!

But Airplane mode also disables calls and SMS. That's why most phones have a 'Mobile data' on/off toggle, in addition to all the other ones.

Example scenario: At home, streaming video. I don't want to risk that a WiFi problem makes my phone switch to Mobile data, so I switch off Mobile data and still can get/make calls (and get/send SMS (Yeah,

Does your phone have a - probably swipe-down - panel with icons which work as on/off toggles for things like WiFi, Sound, Bluetooth, Location, Airplane mode, etc.?

If so - no offense intended - can you drag/swipe down that panel to get more toggles and more pages?

For example, my swipe-down panel initially shows 5 toggles (I can configure which ones). If I drag/swipe it down further, I get 2 rows of

The settings part (three vertical dots) calls this panel the 'Quick panel', which term I assume is also used on other Samsung phones.