The location feature on your Android phone can be both a useful tool and a cause of worry. After all, no one likes the idea of a giant corporation keeping track of your every movement. Amid growing concerns over privacy in the Internet age, Android has put in an option to have your location history deleted automatically. The following are the steps to enable the option.
Automatically Delete Location History on Android
There are two possible ways to enable this feature on your Android phone. Listed below is the first method and the alternate method if the first one doesn’t work for you:
1. Go to Google Maps.
2. Go to the Menu option and scroll down until you get to Settings.
3. Click on Settings and on the page that opens up scroll down until you find the “Maps History” feature.
4. This will take you to the Maps Activity page which features the option named “Choose to delete automatically.”
5. Click on this tab to discover the following three options.
- Keep until I delete manually: Your location history will be stored on your phone until you decide to personally delete it.
- Keep for 18 months: Your location history will be stored for a year and a half, after which it will be automatically deleted.
- Keep for 3 months: Same as the previous option, only now your information will be automatically deleted every three months.
After you have chosen your preferred setting, click on Next, and a page will appear showing your preference has been saved.
Alternate Method:
1. Go to Google Maps on your Android device.
2. At the top-left of the application is the Menu option.
3. Go to Menu and tap on Timeline.
4. At the top-right corner, select the Settings option and tap on the Privacy option.
5. Scroll down until you get to the Location Settings.
6. Select the “Automatically Delete Location History” option.
7. You will again be given the choice to delete location history manually, automatically once every eighteen months or once every three months.
8. Click on your preference and tap Next, then Done.
Deleting Location History via Web Browser
1. On your web browser, go to the Google Maps site while logged into your Gmail account.
2. At the top-right corner of the page is the Settings menu.
3. Go to the Your Timeline option near the bottom of the list of options in Menu.
4. At the bottom of the page is a Gear icon for the page’s settings.
5. Click on the icon, and from the drop-down menus, select the “Automatically Delete Location History” option.
6. Once again, you will be taken to a page that provides you with the option to delete the location history manually when, automatically after 18 months, or automatically after three months.
7. After you have chosen an option and clicked Next, you will be presented with a page that explains the exact terms of the option you chose and provides the exact date up to which your current history will be deleted if you agree to the new setting.
8. Click on the box next to “I Understand That My Data Will Be Deleted” and hit Confirm.
Your existing data that has been around longer than the time period you chose will be deleted, and your new delete location history setting will be saved.
Conclusion
With this feature, you will be able to continue making use of the location-tracking option provided by Google without worrying about the company having access to your location records beyond three to 18 months.