Most people know their phone collects location data. The part fewer people talk about is everything happening in the background. Your phone tracks app behavior, motion patterns, usage analytics, wireless signals, and habits you never manually shared. This article walks through specific settings that cut those signals without breaking your everyday workflow. The primary keyword is phone tracking, and it belongs here because this is where everything starts.
The goal isn’t paranoia. It’s control. Both iPhone and Android give you powerful switches, but many are tucked away in places the average user never visits.
Let’s dig into the ones that matter most.
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1. Kill “Significant Locations” On iPhone And “Location History” On Android
These two settings are among the least-visited menus on any smartphone. They map out where you spend time, how long you stay there, and how often you return.
iPhone:
Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → System Services → Significant Locations
Android (Google account):
Settings → Google → Location → Location History
Turning this off stops your device from building a long-term movement profile. Apps that rely on real-time GPS still work, but your long-term patterns stop getting stored.
2. Turn Off “Analytics & Improvements” That Send Behavior Data Home
Both Apple and Google collect anonymized analytics. These logs include crash reports, device interactions, and general usage behavior. They are optional, yet many devices keep them on after setup because people tap through onboarding.
iPhone:
Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements
Disable all toggles.
Android:
Settings → Privacy → Usage & Diagnostics
Switch it off.
These analytics are helpful for platform engineers, not for you. Turning them off reduces background transmission without affecting performance.
3. Revoke Bluetooth And Nearby Device Permissions From Apps That Don’t Need Them
Few users realize Bluetooth can reveal proximity patterns by detecting nearby beacons and devices. Retailers in some malls use Bluetooth beacons for foot-traffic analytics. Apps with “Nearby Devices” or persistent Bluetooth permissions can interact with those beacons.
Check your permissions:
iPhone:
Settings → Privacy & Security → Bluetooth
Android:
Settings → Privacy → Permission Manager → Nearby Devices and Bluetooth
If an app doesn’t need to pair with hardware, revoke it. Most social apps, retail apps, and games don’t need permanent access here.
4. Control Background App Refresh And Background Data
Apps can fetch updates in the background. This feature is useful for messaging services, but it also keeps data flowing even when you’re not using the app.
iPhone:
Settings → General → Background App Refresh
Turn it off for apps that don’t need live updates.
Android:
Settings → Apps → [Select App] → Mobile Data & Wi-Fi → Disable “Background Data”
This is a quiet way apps stay active without your knowledge. Reducing background access tightens privacy and improves battery life.
5. Disable “Ad Personalization” And Reset Ad IDs
Smartphones include advertising identifiers used for targeted ads. You can reset or limit them to cut behavioral tracking.
iPhone:
Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising
Turn off “Personalized Ads.”
Android:
Settings → Privacy → Ads
Toggle off “Ads Personalization” and select “Delete Advertising ID” if available.
These settings reduce cross-app tracking signals that power targeted ad profiles.
6. Turn Off Wi-Fi And Bluetooth Scanning Used For Positioning
Phones constantly scan for signals to improve location accuracy, even when Wi-Fi or Bluetooth are toggled off manually. Both platforms offer hidden switches that disable this behavior.
iPhone:
iOS uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for location, but the user-facing controls are primarily tied to Location Services. Disabling Location Services disables this type of scanning. This also affects apps that rely on GPS.
Android:
Settings → Location → Location Services →
• Wi-Fi Scanning
• Bluetooth Scanning
Turn both off.
This move stops the phone from pinging nearby routers or beacons to refine your position.
7. Audit App Permissions Quarterly
Permissions creep is one of the biggest reasons phone tracking feels out of control. Apps request location access “just this once” then sit in the background with more privileges than needed.
Do a permissions sweep every few months:
iPhone:
Settings → Privacy & Security → Review all permission categories
Android:
Settings → Privacy → Permission Manager
Look for:
- Camera permissions granted to apps that never use the camera
- Location set to “Allow all the time” instead of “While in use”
- Microphone access granted to apps that have no audio features
Permission pruning reduces the number of apps that ever touch sensitive data.
Where People Misunderstand Phone Tracking
Many users think disabling GPS solves everything. GPS is only one piece. Modern phones track through:
- Motion sensors
- Wi-Fi fingerprints
- Bluetooth beacons
- Advertising IDs
- Analytics logs
- App permissions
- Network metadata
This is why cleaning up your settings matters. One toggle doesn’t solve the full picture. You need a combination of them.
If you’re into digital hygiene and app-level control, Bit Rebels often digs into tech tools that help people take back control, so the rabbit hole is wide open. Readers who enjoy privacy topics usually enjoy our gadget deep-dives and cybersecurity writeups too.
How To Stay Private Without Going Off The Grid
Most people don’t want a stripped-down phone that barely works. The trick is knowing which changes tighten privacy without breaking daily life.
A simple framework:
-
Keep real-time essentials on.
Messaging, maps, and banking usually work fine with limited background access. -
Reduce passive data.
Tracking happens when you aren’t thinking about it. These hidden menus silence passive signals. -
Treat permissions as fluid.
Grant them only when needed, then remove them after. -
Use your phone more intentionally.
The fewer apps you install, the fewer data streams exist.
Privacy isn’t a one-time project. It’s an ongoing cleanup. These seven settings give you a strong baseline without forcing lifestyle changes.
If you want to push it deeper later, encrypted messaging, hardened DNS, and device firewalls offer another layer. For now, this gives you more control than ninety percent of users who never leave default settings.
Your phone will still function. It will just stay quieter in the background.
That’s the point.
IMAGE: BIT REBELS
If you are interested in even more technology-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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