Want More Privacy? Here’s How To Stop Apps From Tracking You

Most apps today ask for permissions the moment you install them. Some genuinely need them, while others quietly use your location, activity, or device data to personalise ads or track your behaviour across apps. The good news? Both iPhone and Android now give you enough tools to control what apps can and cannot track. Also Read: Is Your Phone Tracking You? What Apps Like Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Amazon Collect And How To Stop It

Wondering how? Here are simple steps to help you reduce unwanted tracking on your phone. 

Why apps track you

Before the how-to, it’s worth quickly understanding why apps do this. It is mostly about:

• Your location
• How you interact with the app
• Your ad ID (used for targeted ads)
• Device info
• Browsing patterns

This data helps ad networks show you personalised ads, but it also raises privacy concerns. Fortunately, you can turn off most of this tracking manually.

How To Stop App Tracking On iPhone (iOS)

Apple has one of the cleanest controls for this. To turn off App Tracking: 

• Go to Settings
• Tap Privacy & Security
• Select Tracking
• Turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track
• This blocks all apps from tracking you across other apps and websites.

However, if you want to manage tracking per app, then you’ll see a list of apps under the same Tracking section. Simply, toggle OFF for apps you don’t trust.

Another trick is – disable location access. To do so: 

• First of all, go to Settings 
• Click on Privacy & Security 
• And then Location Services
• Tap any app
• Select Never or While Using the App

How To Stop Tracking On Android

Android gives you more granular controls, but they’re spread across settings.

You can disable Ad personalisation: 

• To do so, go to Settings
• Search for Ads
• Tap Delete Advertising ID or Opt out of Ads Personalisation
• This stops apps from using your ad ID to track you.

You can also manage App Permissions. Simply go to Settings, Privacy, and then Permission Manager. Check permissions like Location, Camera, Microphone, and Contacts. Switch unnecessary ones to Deny. This quickly shows which apps are overrequesting access.