Geolocation on Android mobile devices

Geolocation is the identification of the geographical location of a user's device.

Sites and apps request access to your geolocation in order to provide better search results and provide relevant information that factors in the user's location.

You can allow or deny access to your location.

  1. Enabling or disabling location tracking
  2. Setting up shared geolocation settings
  3. Resetting geolocation settings
Note. Mobile device manufacturers may change the appearance of Android on their devices, which is why the names of menu items may differ across Android devices. This help section provides the terms used in unmodified Android devices.

Enabling or disabling location tracking

When an app or site requests information about where you are, a warning will appear on the screen. You can choose your geolocation settings for a site or an app, which will remain in effect while you use it.

To change the settings:

  1. Got to Settings → Apps in your app.

  2. In the list of installed programs, select the one you need.

  3. Tap Permissions.

  4. In the Locations section put the switch into the on position (to enable access to your location) or the off position (to disable access to your location).

Note. If location tracking is disabled in the general settings, it will not be possible to enable or disable location tracking on a per-app basis.

Setting up shared geolocation settings

To set up shared geolocation settings for all apps and sites on your device:

  1. Go to your device's Settings.

  2. In the Privacy section, tap Location.

  3. Change the switch to the ON position to enable location tracking, or to the OFF position to disable location tracking.

To improve the accuracy of your location data, choose either All sources or Mobile networks.

Resetting geolocation settings

In order to function properly, sites may request location data from your device.

Geolocation settings are stored in the browser. If necessary, you can reset this information:

  1. Open your browser and tap  → Settings.

  2. In the Privacy section, tap Clear data.

  3. Check the option Warnings for sites (do not check the other options).

  4. Tap Clear, then tap Yes.