Arguably one of the most sensitive pieces of information you have to protect when using electronic devices is your location, and others can learn a lot about you based on where you regularly travel. In Windows’ case, this setting is turned on by default for certain reasons, such as to give you correct directions to a destination of your choice or suggest nearby restaurants and hotels. This is also particularly useful for finding your device in case you misplace it. The good news is that Microsoft removes any identifying data before sending the location to the cloud.
However, if you still prefer not to give location permission to your computer apps, you can easily disable access with only a few clicks. Here’s how you can do it (via Microsoft):
- Open the Settings app.
- Go to the “Privacy & security” tab.
- Scroll down to the “App permissions” section.
- Select Location.
- Toggle off the Location services.
- (Optional) If you want to grant access to select apps, turn on Location services and pick the individual apps from the list.
