Why smartphones are watching us and how to wean them from it

Perhaps you have never thought about it, but if your smartphone is equipped with a GPS module and you have not changed the geolocation settings, then the gadget remembers the places you visit and writes them down in a special journal. And it doesn't matter if you use an iPhone or any Android smartphone.

You yourself give permission to collect such statistics by accepting the terms of the user agreement.

Apple and Google explain this behavior by the fact that the collected information serves to provide relevant results when working with their services. For example, iOS uses location data for weather reports, directions in maps, and geotagging in photos. On Android, location history helps Google suggest better directions and more accurate search results.

How to view location history

data collection: frequently visited places

To view a history log of recent places visited on iOS, go to Settings → Privacy → Location Services → System Services → Frequently Visited Places. Here, in the "History" section, the places where you visit most often will be shown. Each entry can be opened and the coordinates on the map can be viewed.

On Android, there are corresponding statistics too. You can view it in the "Location" → "Location history" section.

In addition, the last visited places are displayed in the web version of Google Maps, regardless of which device you use Google services on. More detailed statistics are collected here: places are shown as points on the map, there is a division by date. If enabled, you can find out exactly where you were on a particular day.

Disable and delete location data collection

Despite the assurances of companies about the anonymous use of data, you can prevent this kind of interference with your life. It is quite simple to do this:

On iOS you need to turn off the toggle switch "Frequently visited places" in the section of the system services of the same name. There is also a button "Clear history", which will delete all data.
On Android the required toggle switch is located in the Location History section of the geolocation settings. To erase the data, you need to click the "Delete location history" button and confirm the deletion.

After these manipulations, your smartphone will no longer remember where you are and will not store the history of the last visited places.