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Creepy ads following my daily walk route altered my app permissions
I used to let apps track where I went for maps and weather, but now I block location data on everything except navigation.
4 comments
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hugos465mo ago
Yeah, and what about the battery drain? @phoenix_wis has the right idea with picking apps one by one, but I always check which ones are constantly pinging for location in the background. Found my social media app was doing it every few minutes for no good reason, which was killing my phone's life by noon. It's not just about privacy, it's about your phone actually lasting the day. Turning off the constant tracking for apps that don't really need it fixes two problems at once.
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spencer4006mo ago
Consider the trade-off for those location services you are blocking. I get more relevant local alerts and traffic updates because I leave some tracking on. It just comes down to whether you value the convenience over the vague creep factor.
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nathan_hall446mo ago
Last month during a road trip to Austin, my maps app warned me about a huge accident ahead. It rerouted me automatically and saved me at least an hour of sitting in traffic. I totally get what you mean about the convenience being worth it. For me, the local weather alerts and finding nearby gas stations when I'm low on fuel make a big difference. Sure, it feels a bit creepy sometimes, but the practical benefits are too good to pass up. I've found that adjusting settings for specific apps instead of blocking everything gives me the best of both worlds.
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phoenix_lewis6mo ago
Try adjusting location permissions app by app instead of a blanket off switch. I let maps and weather apps use my location all the time, but everything else gets set to 'while using' or 'never'. You still get those lifesaving traffic alerts without every app on your phone tracking your daily routine. Why let the creep factor win when you can have both control and convenience?
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