Help SERIOUS Help Needed: How to stop my position from being tracked?

[NewbAndroidUser]

Since there are so many I.T experts in this community I thought it would be the best place to ask a technical question like this.

So, my question is: How I can turn off "location tracking" on my Android smartphone? I'm a law-abiding citizen so please don't think I'm doing anything shady. I just don't want my wife or her friends to know where I am during the day.
I really liked how my phone from 15 years ago was and how my location couldn't be tracked.

What can I do?

 

[lunatic59]

First, go to menu>settings>location and set that to off. Then contact your carrier and make sure there aren't any location services enabled on your account. If you still think they can track you, then factory reset your device to remove and apps that might have been installed to track you.

 

[electricpete]

That previous post certainly covers all the bases.

Personally, I think it's unlikely your wife can track you unless A-you post to social media or B-she has had access to your phone to install some tracking app. And unless she's being really sneaky with a spy type app, any tracking app she installed should appear in your app drawer. May not be easily identifiable, maybe something like tasker or ifttt. At any rate turning off location services on your phone as suggested should take care of these possibilities.

 

[lunatic59]

Or ... if you have a buddy who drive a cab, you could just let him hang on to your phone for a day and drive your wife nuts.

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

If I upgrade my smartphone to the most recent Android OS, will my user privacy be improved or will my user privacy be worse???

I'll check the exact Android OS I'm currently running on my smartphone and report back to this thread.

 

[Slug]

Contrary to common myth, smartphones cannot be tracked by Joe Public without installation of a location-providing app. If you want your location to remain private, don't allow any apps (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc) access to location data.

Alternatively, as suggested above, disable Location in Settings; note that this will block all geolocation functions, so may affect your own usage.

 

[Bg260]

After a factory reset, if that's what you end up doing. Carefully read through all the options in set up wizard. They are all checked by default. You will see something to the effect of "allow apps to search for Wi-Fi even when Wi-fi is off. You can also enter Google settings and turn off location services. There is a "service" provided by maps. It will show you where you've been. I got into mine, went back a year before I got bored. This data can only be viewed by a person with the password.

 

[Phalon4]

Even if you do all the above,there is a strong possibility that your device can still be tracked. Depending on your carrier and all the micro printed privacy policy has been read, and the persistence on whom is trying to track you. The only way to literally disappear is to open up a new cell service under an Alias name with a new number. Or just remove your battery from your device and leave it off. New laws has been implemented to keep track of all mobile users due to the rise in Terrorist attacks. The homeland security agencies and the NSA with the Department of Defense is keeping a serious eye on such events. Yes big brother is watching us even more today. So in short get a new number under an Alias name would be the best option.

 

[electricpete]

I agree, but we're talking about wife and her girlfriends finding his location, not the NSA

 

[peterh337]

By default, an android phone reports your location to google, and anybody who can log into your google account can track our device.

Normally, that is desirable because it enables you to find (or remotely erase) a lost phone, or enables somebody to find you if something happened to you.

You can disable this feature under google config in the phone.

As stated above, disable location services, which should prevent your location being saved to photos you take with the phone (in the EXIF header). However the photos may still contain clues...

Facebook strips off EXIF anyway, to make stalking harder.

If your wife suspects you (and women have a 7th sense for somebody who is playing around) then she can get some anorak to install a spy app on the phone. One woman did that to a friend of mine. It copied all his Whatsapp messages (etc) to her

What you cannot disable is constant tracking of the phone by the security agencies. Roughly every 10 mins, and for every voice or data call and for every SMS, the GSM system stores your location (derived from GSM tower signals), plus details of all numbers called etc, in a database which is held for ever. This is why criminals use one-use phones, with various precautions.

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

I just checked and it's Android OS 4.1.1. If I upgrade to the newest OS would I lose my privacy?

 

[lunatic59]

I just checked and it's Android OS 4.1.1. If I upgrade to the newest OS would I lose my privacy?

No. If anything privacy settings are improved with each version.

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

Anyone know the minimum hardware requirements to upgrade to Android OS 6.0?

So if I upgrade to Android OS 6.0 my privacy and security will be improved?

 

[Bg260]

Upgrade how? Chances are it's upgraded as high as it will be by the OEM.

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

Well, it gives me the option to update the Android OS on my smartphone.

What's the most secure way for me to upgrade to Android 6.0?

 

[chanchan05]

Well, it gives me the option to update the Android OS on my smartphone.

What's the most secure way for me to upgrade to Android 6.0?

On your phone>settings>about phone>update software.

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

This is super important for me so I really appreciate the help!

So, the more recent Android OS I can upgrade to, the safer my privacy will be?

 

[NewbAndroidUser]

I've got my Android phone in my hand now and when I click on "About phone" then I click on "System updates" and then it gives 2 options: "Online update" OR "Local update". If I use "Online update" would I be securely connected to Google's servers while it downloads the Android OS update?

How does it work?

 

[Bg260]

Its an over the air (OTA) update. It comes from your phones manufacturer. It is the safest way to upgrade that I know of. What phone are you using anyway? If you want the ultimate privacy, buy a cabin in the woods, forsake all technology, and befriend a bear.
This is a new world we live in.

 

[lunatic59]

Online update is as @Bg260 described. It's downloaded to your phone from either the carrier or the phone manufacturer, depending on who is providing them for your specific model. A local update assumes you have downloaded the correct update file from a third party source (like Android Forums, XDA, etc.) and have already saved it to the user memory of your phone.

I'd forget about the bear.