How To Turn Off Smartphone Apps That Track You In The Background

Foursquare released a revamped app last Wednesday that joins a list of those tracking location persistently, including Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), Google, and a number of shopping apps that access location data all the time, even when they're off.Apps use location information to enhance their service to users. Foursquare, for example, sends helpful tips based on where you happen to be. REI's app sends deals when you happen to be near a store. The tracking is opt-in, but that doesn't mean the data is safe. The Target breach is one example of how a large-scale corporation could be susceptible to outside security threats. Meanwhile, tech companies like Google Inc.

How To Stop Apps From Collecting Location Data While Running In The BackgroundWhen it comes to managing always-on data collection, Apple iPhone users are in luck. Turning off “location services” prevents apps like Waze or Maps from collecting data, and has the added bonus of preserving battery life. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) also includes an option in iOS that allows them to disable passive tracking.

Passive tracking occurs even when the iPhone’s location services is turned off, as apps can use Wi-Fi networks and other information to determine a user’s location. Here’s how to determine which apps can snoop on your location on a case-by-case basis:

Touch your iPhone’s “Settings” icon.

Rather than turning off “location services” for all apps, touch the “General” option.

Select “Background App Refresh.”

Determine which apps you trust, and disable those you don’t. The apps that track your location show a blue arrow, but users can also turn the setting off entirely.

Users of Google’s Android operating system do not have it so easy – yet. In version 4.3 (Jelly Bean) of Android, users were able to enable “permissions” for individual apps, selecting which parts of their smartphone that each app had access to. Unfortunately for them, Google disabled that in an updated version of Android (4.4 KitKat).

Technology Review reported in January on an app that a team of researchers at Rutgers University developed that warned Android users about which apps were collecting personal information about them. Led by assistant professor Jamie Lindqvist, the team said at the time that the app would be released by March.

Via-ibtimes

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