WASHINGTON — Your smartphone goes everywhere with you, but beware — it’s keeping track.
NBC News’ Jeff Rossen calls your phone “the mother lode of information,” keeping track of all the places you’ve been, and even how long you’ve been there.
On an Android phone, a tech expert tells NBC, the information goes straight to Google, where you can be tracked on any computer in the world by anyone who has — or figures out how to take — access to your account.
Apple says it uses the information for “personalized services,” and that it stays on your phone, and only gets sent to Apple if you consent. Apple wouldn’t say whether it takes the data, though.
Apple and Google say you can turn off location information, but they don’t make it easy to find. Here’s how it’s done on an iPhone:
- On the home screen, click Settings;
- click Privacy;
- then click on Location Services;
- then System Services (you have to scroll down to find it);
- finally, click on Frequent Locations, where you can clear your history and then turn off Frequent Locations.
On an Android:
- Click on Settings;
- click on Location preferences;
- disable the Google Location History.