Windows 10 comes with a whole lot of improvements over its predecessors in terms of features and security, but has quirks that never fail to annoy power users. One of them is location-based tracking, which is far more prevalent in Windows 10 than in earlier versions, making it a potential security nightmare. However, it doesn’t have to be that way, because you can change location settings and disable location access in Windows 10 with a few simple clicks. Here, we will show you how to disable location tracking in Windows 10.

You can disable location tracking for just about any third-party app or built-in Windows features using the Settings. There are a few exceptions to that rule, like Cortana, which needs to be disabled entirely to prevent it from collecting your location info. In this article, we’ll show you not only how to stop Microsoft and built-in apps from tracking your location, but also how to prevent third-party programs from accessing any location info without your expressed permission. So without further delay, let’s check out how to disable location access for Microsoft and other apps in Windows 10.

  • Disable Location Tracking by Microsoft in Windows 10
  • Disable Location Tracking by Microsoft Store Apps
  • Disable Location Tracking on a Per-app Basis
  • Disable Location Tracking by Desktop Apps
  • Clear All Location History on Windows 10
  • Disable Location Tracking Across All Accounts
  • Frequently Asked Questions

Disable Location Tracking by Microsoft in Windows 10

  • Go to Settings (Windows key + I) and select ‘Privacy’.

Disable Location Tracking by Microsoft Store Apps

If you want to prevent all apps and services from tracking you but have no problem in letting Windows from accessing your location, keep the earlier setting ‘On’.

If you want to let some Windows 10 apps, like clock, weather and news apps, detect your location for more relevant information, but don’t want wholesale tracking, you need to keep both the earlier settings ‘On’ and scroll further down that page to grant permissions on a per-app basis.

Note: This setting only applies to apps downloaded from Microsoft Store and built-in apps within Windows 10.

Desktop apps don’t ask for permission to access data in the same way that a Microsoft Store app does. To disable them from accessing location information, scroll down further and turn off the toggle for: ‘Allow desktop apps to access your location’.

Even if you change location settings in Windows 10 and disable every single setting described thus far, your location history will continue to remain on the device and can be accessed by apps and services. While this information will eventually be deleted automatically “after a limited time”, you can delete it manually right now.

Disable Location Tracking Across All Accounts

Location permission can be enabled or disabled only on a per-account basis. So if you share your computer with any other user or there are other user accounts that you use yourself, you’ll have to disable location permission in all of them individually.

1. Can I Turn on Location For a Third-party App Without Letting Windows or Microsoft Access my Location?

Unfortunately, no. Microsoft specifically designed the location permissions stack in a way that you will have to let it access your location before you can grant location permission to any third-party app. So even you can change location settings in Windows 10, you cannot allow location access to third-party apps without letting Microsoft access it first.

No, it doesn’t. Many apps and websites can still deduce your general location by analyzing other technologies, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular modem, etc. to determine your device’s location. This one of the many reasons why you might want to use a trusted VPN service to spoof your location while surfing online.

All major browsers, including Chrome, Firefox and Edge Chromium, allow users to disable location requests from websites. Here’s how you do it:

4. How Can I Stop Cortana From Tracking my Location?

As mentioned earlier, you will need to disable Cortana entirely to prevent it from collecting your location info. For that, check out our detailed guide on how to fully disable Cortana on Windows 10 by clicking thru the relevant link in the second paragraph.

5. Do These Methods Work Equally on Desktops and Laptops?

Yes, the methods described above work both on desktops and laptops. However, on laptops, which mostly ship with integrated webcams and microphones, you should also switch off camera and mic permissions for apps from Settings > Privacy > Camera/Microphone. Even if you do allow access, make sure that you only do that for select apps, like Skype, Zoom and Google Meet, and not for apps that shouldn’t ever need to use the camera or microphone in your PC.

Yes, you can. One way used to be a fake GPS adapter driver to provide a location of your choice. However, the open-source software listed on GitHub is no longer maintained by the author, so I can’t vouch for its effectiveness at this time. Instead, you can use a VPN or even fake your location in the browser itself. The option to use fake GPS coordinates can be found within ‘Developer Options’ in all major browsers, including Chrome, Firefox and Opera.

Go to Settings > Privacy and turn off all the toggles you see there. Also turn off Windows 10 advertising ID to prevent apps, websites and services from tracking you online. If you want even deeper privacy protections, go through the other options on the left pane of the same page (Settings > Privacy) and change your global privacy options for things such as speech recognition, inking and feedback.