Ever text a picture to an acquaintance or someone you just met? Depending on your phone and camera’s settings, you may have inadvertently sent over where you live, too. This is what someone can see from just a photo.
One good thing about social media is that most platforms wipe out this data. Still, they’re exposing you in other ways. Here’s how to check everything Facebook collects.
Your devices and apps know where you are, too, but you can stop that.
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Your GPS app must know where you are to guide you to your destination. Your social media apps want to know where you are to serve you with more relevant ads. You can fiddle with these settings as needed, but you must be thorough.
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Say you turn off location tracking on your phone but don't do the same with your laptop. It defeats the purpose.
Let’s start with your device and account settings.
Your Google account is tied to various apps and services, making it a great place to start.
Location History saves your location wherever you take your smartphone. It’s off by default, but you may have turned it on and forgotten about it. No problem. Here’s how to turn it off:
One last thing: Open up Devices on this account to see a list of devices saving your location. Tap or click Turn off to disable these devices.
Location Sharing lets you share your location with people you choose. You may be using this setting with your loved ones, but check to be sure.
Smartphone warning: Check these settings NOW on your iPhone or Android
Location Services has two parts: A global setting to stop sharing your location with Apple and individual settings for each app you have installed on your iPhone.
Location Sharing lets you share your location with family and friends in Messages, Find My and other services. Make sure you know who’s watching.
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Choose between turning off location tracking completely or fine-tuning each app’s setting.
You may have shared your location with friends and family through Google Maps. Here’s how to check up on that.
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You can turn location services off entirely on your Windows PC or for individual apps.
Here’s how to change location services for your Mac:
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