To stop an Android app from accessing your location in the background, change that app’s Location permission to Allow only while using the app. Open Settings > Apps > [app name] > Permissions > Location and select the option. If the app is not shown, tap See all apps. Menu names and routes vary by phone and Android version.
Change an app’s location permission
- Open Settings on your Android phone.
- Tap Apps, then select the app. If it is not listed, tap See all apps.
- Tap Permissions, then Location.
- Select Allow only while using the app.
Google documents this app-specific route in its Android location-permission instructions and general Android app-permission instructions.
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Other ways to find the setting
Use the Location settings page
On supported phones, open Settings > Location > App location permissions, choose the app, then change its access. Google documents this route for Pixel phones and notes that some Pixel instructions apply only to Android 11 and later. The exact labels and availability can differ on other devices.
Open App info from the app icon
Touch and hold the app icon, tap App info, then go to Permissions > Location and choose Allow only while using the app.
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Review location access across apps
To see apps by permission category, Android’s general guidance gives this route: Settings > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Permission manager > Location. Labels can vary by device. If none of these routes matches your phone, check the manufacturer’s instructions.
What “while using the app” means
Google Play describes foreground access as location access while an app is open and visible. Access after you close the app or return to the home screen is background access. The available permission choices have different effects:
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- Allow only while using the app: permits location access during app use, rather than granting the app general background access.
- Ask every time: prompts when you open the app and allows access until you are done.
- Don’t allow: denies location access, including while you are using the app.
Google Play requires apps that need background location to complete its declaration and approval process. That policy context does not establish what an app did with location data it had already accessed. See Google Play’s explanation of background location permissions.
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Limit location precision separately
If you allow an app to access location, you may also see Use precise location. Turning this off limits how precisely the app can locate you; it does not change when the app may access location. Google describes approximate location as an area of about 3 square kilometers. On Android 12 and later, precise-location permission can be managed for each app.
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Location Accuracy is a separate, device-level setting. It affects how the phone determines location and may use wireless signals and sensor information to improve estimates; it is not the same as an individual app’s precise-location permission. See Google’s explanation of Location Accuracy.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What this permission change does—and does not—tell you
The permission controls the app’s allowed access; it does not tell you what the app did with location data it collected before you changed the setting. Google says, “You can change the location settings for each app whenever you want.”
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