You can turn off Google Location History on Android, iPhone, and desktop in under two minutes. Here is exactly how to do it.
Turning off Google Location History is one of the most effective steps you can take to protect your privacy online. Google tracks and stores every place you visit — unless you tell it to stop. In this complete step-by-step guide, you will learn exactly how to turn off Google Location History on Android, iPhone, and desktop, how to delete your existing location data, and what actually changes when you do.
- What Is Google Location History and Why Does It Matter?
- How to Turn Off Google Location History on Android
- How to Turn Off Google Location History on iPhone
- How to Turn Off Google Location History on Desktop
- How to Delete Your Existing Google Location History
- How to Set Up Auto-Delete for Location History
- What Changes When You Turn Off Location History?
- Complete Google Privacy Checklist
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Google Location History and Why Does It Matter?
Google Location History is a feature that records every place you go and stores it to your Google Account. This data builds up into a detailed timeline of your movements — every shop, hospital, workplace, and home address you have visited — going back years.
Google uses this data to power features like Google Maps timeline, personalised recommendations, and targeted advertising. While some people find these features useful, many others are uncomfortable with how much location data Google holds about them.
In 2023, Google agreed to pay a $391.5 million settlement to US states after being found to have continued tracking users’ locations even after they turned off Location History. Google has since changed how the setting works.
Turning off Google Location History means Google will stop adding new location data to your account. You can also delete all historical data that has already been collected — which we cover in detail below.
How to Turn Off Google Location History on Android
There are two ways to turn off Google Location History on Android — through the Google Maps app or through your phone’s Settings. Both achieve the same result. The Maps app route is usually faster.
📱 Method 1 — Via Google Maps App (Fastest)
Tap the Google Maps app icon to open it. Make sure you are signed in to your Google Account.
In the top-right corner of the screen, tap your profile photo or initials to open your account menu.
From the menu that appears, select Your data in Maps. This takes you to your location and privacy settings.
You will see a section showing your Location History status. Tap on Location History is On to manage the setting.
Tap Turn off at the bottom of the screen. Google will ask you to confirm. Tap “Turn off” again. Location History is now disabled for your Google Account across all devices.
📱 Method 2 — Via Android Phone Settings
Go to Settings → Google → Manage your Google Account
At the top of your Google Account page, swipe across the tabs and select Data & Privacy.
Under “History settings”, find Location History and tap it to open the control panel.
Tap the blue toggle to switch Location History Off. Confirm when prompted. Done.
How to Turn Off Google Location History on iPhone
The process on iPhone is almost identical to Android — you can do it through the Google Maps app or directly on the web via your Google Account.
Open the Google Maps app. If you do not have it installed, you can also do this via Safari at myaccount.google.com — see the Desktop section below.
Tap your profile photo or initials in the top-right corner of the Maps screen.
Tap Your data in Maps from the menu.
Tap the Location History status panel to open the controls.
Tap Turn off and confirm. Location History is now off across all devices linked to your Google Account.
How to Turn Off Google Location History on Desktop (PC or Mac)
Open any browser and go to myaccount.google.com. Sign in to your Google Account if prompted.
In the left-hand navigation panel, click Data & Privacy.
Keep scrolling until you see the History settings section. You will see three options: Web & App Activity, Location History, and YouTube History.
Click on Location History to expand the settings panel.
Click the blue toggle switch next to “Location History” to turn it off. It will turn grey when disabled. Google may ask you to confirm with your password.
A confirmation box will appear. Click “Pause” or “Turn Off” to confirm. Google Location History is now disabled across all your devices and apps.
How to Delete Your Existing Google Location History
Turning off Location History stops Google from collecting new data — but all your existing location data is still stored in your account unless you delete it. Here is how to wipe it completely.
Visit timeline.google.com (or open Google Maps → tap your profile photo → “Your timeline”).
On the Timeline page, click the settings icon (cog or three dots) and select Delete all Location History.
Choose All time to delete everything. You can also select a specific date range if you only want to remove certain periods.
Tick the box confirming you understand this is permanent and cannot be undone, then click Delete. All your Google location history is now permanently erased.
How to Set Up Auto-Delete for Google Location History
Instead of fully turning off Location History, you can keep it on but set it to automatically delete after a set period. This is a good middle ground if you still want features like Google Maps timeline but do not want years of data stored.
Follow the same steps as turning it off, but instead of toggling it off, look for the “Auto-delete” option below the toggle.
Click this option to set an automatic deletion window.
Select from 3 months, 18 months, or 36 months. Any location data older than your chosen period will be automatically and permanently deleted by Google on a rolling basis.
Confirm your selection. Auto-delete is now active and Google will regularly purge older location data automatically without you needing to do anything further.
What Changes When You Turn Off Google Location History?
| Feature | Location History ON | Location History OFF |
|---|---|---|
| Google Maps Timeline | Records all places visited | No new places recorded |
| Personalised recommendations | Based on places you visit | Less personalised |
| Google Maps navigation | Works fully | Still works fully |
| Real-time location (sharing) | Available | Still available |
| Google targeted ads using location | Uses location history | Cannot use stored location |
| Privacy | Lower — movements stored | Higher — no movement log |
Complete Google Privacy Checklist
While you are in your Google privacy settings, here are the other key settings worth turning off or reviewing for maximum privacy protection:
- Turn off Location History — covered in this guide above
- Turn off Web & App Activity — stops Google recording your searches and app usage. Go to myaccount.google.com → Data & Privacy → Web & App Activity
- Turn off YouTube History — stops Google building a profile from your viewing habits. Same Data & Privacy page, under History settings.
- Review Ad Personalisation — go to myaccount.google.com → Data & Privacy → Ad personalisation and turn it off to stop Google using your data for targeted ads.
- Check App Permissions — on your phone go to Settings → Apps and review which apps have access to your location, camera, microphone, and contacts.
- Download Your Google Data — visit takeout.google.com to download everything Google has ever stored about you, including location history, searches, emails, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions — Turning Off Google Location History
No — turning off Location History stops Google from adding places to your account timeline, but Google may still collect some location data through Web & App Activity (your searches and app usage). For maximum privacy, turn off both Location History AND Web & App Activity in your Google Account settings.
Yes, completely. Google Maps navigation, directions, live traffic, and search all work exactly the same with Location History turned off. The only thing that stops working is the Maps Timeline feature, which shows a record of everywhere you have visited.
Yes. In Google Maps Timeline (timeline.google.com), you can delete location data for a specific day, a specific place, or a specific date range — you do not have to delete everything. Click the bin icon next to any entry or select a custom date range when deleting.
Yes. Location History is tied to your Google Account, not your device. Turning it off in your Google Account settings disables it across all phones, tablets, and computers signed into that account simultaneously.
Google Location History can go back as far as when you first enabled it on your Google Account — potentially many years. Unless you have deleted it or set up auto-delete, Google stores all of it indefinitely. You can check how far back yours goes by visiting timeline.google.com.
Location History is a Google Account setting that records your movements to a cloud timeline. Location Services is a device-level setting that controls whether your phone’s GPS can be used by apps at all. You can turn off Location History in your Google Account while still having Location Services enabled on your phone so apps like Maps can still give you directions.
