The location services feature in our apps and devices can be useful for a number of things. For example, if you’re meeting a friend somewhere, you can check their location so that you don’t arrive too early or too late. Similarly, if you’re going on a hike with friends, you can see their locations so that you know where to go to find them again when they split off from the group. If someone has given you access to their location, it means that they trust you and have given you permission to see where they are at any time. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are giving up all of their privacy to you; it might just be something as simple as trusting you enough for them to know where they are going when they leave the house. However, if someone hasn’t given you access to their location, it probably means that they don’t want anyone to know where they are all the time. Read on to learn more about how this feature works and what it means for your relationship with another person.
Can Someone See When You Check Their Location?
No, currently there is no way for someone to see when you check their location. However, if you share your location with someone, they will be able to see when you were last active at that location
How Does Location Tracking Work?
- When you search for a location, the GPS chip in your phone will transmit your current location to the server. The information sent is only as precise as the GPS chip’s ability to provide, so if you are moving around, the accuracy of your position will be lower.
- A server somewhere on the Internet collects this information and uses it to determine where you are. It does this by looking at data from other users who have checked their location at that same time and place.
- The server then compares this data with a database of locations to see if it matches any known locations for that user. If there is a match in the database, it then selects a nearby location that best matches what they have told you they are doing at that time and place and displays it on their screen (if they allow anyone to see their screen). This is called “geofencing” or “geo-locating” (depending on who you ask). Some apps or websites may not include this feature but still, use geolocation tracking based on IP address or cookie data without telling you about it first.
Why Do Apps Request Permission To See Location?
- It is the only way to find out where the user is. If you have the right app installed, you can track a person’s location.
- It allows the app to make decisions about what information it displays based on that location, such as whether or not to show an icon for a specific person, or what to show in an alert message.
- It allows the app to save information about a person’s location and send it back to the server so that other apps or websites can see where they are at any given time and display this information in their own apps and websites for other users to see.
- It provides access to notifications from the user when they are near places of interest (such as nearby restaurants) or when their phone is ringing (if they have a phone with Bluetooth)
What Are Some Of The Potential Benefits Of Location Tracking?
- It can be used to help you find your way around. It can show you where you are on a map, and it can help your app know where you are at any given time so that it can adapt to your surroundings (such as showing an icon for a specific person when they are near).
- It can help apps make decisions about what information they display based on the location information, such as whether or not to show an icon for a specific person, or what to show in an alert message.
- It allows the app or website to save information about a person’s location and send it back to the server so that other apps or websites can see where they are at any given time and display this information in their own apps and websites for other users to see. This is called “geofencing” or “geo-locating” (depending on who you ask). Some apps or websites may not include this feature but still, use geolocation tracking based on IP address or cookie data without telling you about it first.
- It allows the app or website to send notifications when the user is near places of interest (such as nearby restaurants) or when their phone is ringing (if they have a phone with Bluetooth).
What Are Some Of The Potential Problems With Location Tracking?
- The app may not be able to find your location even if it has permission for it, because the person’s cell phone network may not be able to provide a GPS signal, or because your device doesn’t have enough battery power for it to operate. For example, if you are walking around in a rural area and your cell phone has low battery power and you don’t have wi-fi available, your app may still not be able to access your location information.
- If you have an old cell phone or aren’t using a good signal, your app may not be able to access that location information at all. This is especially true if there isn’t a strong enough signal where you are trying to get your location information from. This can happen in many places where there aren’t very many people using cell phones (such as in rural areas). If you are in this situation, make sure that you update the latest version of your apps and uninstall any older versions of them before downloading new versions that request permission for location tracking so that they can take advantage of all of their features without requiring permission for location tracking first. There is no need to give permission for location tracking when you are downloading the latest version of an app.
- If you have an old cell phone or aren’t using a good signal, your app may not be able to access that location information at all. This is especially true if there isn’t a strong enough signal where you are trying to get your location information from. This can happen in many places where there aren’t very many people using cell phones (such as in rural areas). If you are in this situation, make sure that you update the latest version of your apps and uninstall any older versions of them before downloading new versions that request permission for location tracking so that they can take advantage of all of their features without requiring permission for location tracking first. There is no need to give permission for location tracking when you are downloading the latest version of an app.
- If you have a low-powered device, such as a smart phone or tablet computer, or if it doesn’t have enough battery power for geolocation services and GPS, then your app may not be able to get a GPS signal in order to find out where it thinks it is located; therefore it may not be able to access your current location and send the data back to the server so that other apps or websites can see where they are at any given time and display this information in their own apps and websites for other users to see.
- If you are using an app that doesn’t have a good enough GPS or network signal, then your app may not be able to find out where you are located at all. This is especially true if there isn’t a strong enough signal which you are trying to get your location information from. This can happen in many places where there aren’t very many people using cell phones (such as in rural areas). If you are in this situation, make sure that you update the latest version of your apps and uninstall any older versions of them before downloading new versions that request permission for location tracking so that they can take advantage of all of their features without requiring permission for location tracking first. There is no need to give permission for location tracking when you are downloading the latest version of an app.
Bottom Line
When you give someone permission to see your location, it is important to remember that they will be able to see your location whenever you check theirs. This means that if you are in a relationship, you should try to be discreet and avoid checking your partner’s location too often. If you aren’t actively using the location services on your phone, you can turn them off to keep your location a secret.