Find a lost phone and even give it a call
If, like most people, you thought Google stopped tracking your location once you turned off Location History in your account settings, you were wrong. According to an AP investigation published Monday, even if you disable Location History, the search giant still tracks you every time you open Google Maps, get certain automatic weather updates, or search for things in your browser. There's a way to stop it—but it takes some digging. The problem affects anyone with an Android phone and iPhone users running Google Maps on their devices, according to the AP report, which researchers at Princeton University verified.
That's more than two billion people. The Google support page for managing and deleting your Location History says that once you turn it off, "the places you go are no longer stored.
How to Track a Cell Phone Location using google phone locator
When you turn off Location History for your Google Account, it's off for all devices associated with that Google Account. In fact, turning off your Location History only stops Google from creating a timeline of your location that you can view. Some apps will still track you and store time-stamped location data from your devices.
Finding that setting isn't easy. At all. Sign in to your Google account on a browser on iOS or your desktop, or through the Android settings menu. In fact, the setting sits right above the Location History option, suggesting at a glance that the two things are quite distinct. For example, you may stop seeing more relevant search results or recommendations about places you care about.
Even when this setting is paused, Google may temporarily use information from recent searches in order to improve the quality of the active search session. I really think that the FTC needs to investigate right away. Google told the AP that it provides "clear descriptions of these tools," but it takes eight taps on an Android phone—if you know exactly where you're going—to even access that description to begin with. As the AP notes, most people who explicitly turned off their Location History tracking, as WIRED and many other privacy conscious publications have advised people to do, would have assumed they had already taken all steps necessary to keep their location private.
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How to use Google search to find your lost Android phone
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Key Points. You can prepare your phone ahead of time in case it's lost or stolen. These steps will let you remotely wipe the device, ring it and show its last known location on a map.
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- These settings will enable you to track your smartphone regardless of the location..
- Find My Mobile.
- Turn Find My Device On / Off - Android™;
Go to iCloud. Open "Find iPhone.
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If you own an Android phone, here's how you prepare:. Log in to your Google account.
Select the missing device from your list of phones. Click "Locate" to spot the phone on a map.