Google Sued For Keeping Users’ Location Data Too Long. 3 Settings Decide What It Knows About You

Google has been fined €403 million, or approximately $463 million, after Ireland’s privacy regulator found that the company violated European data protection rules when handling users’ location information.

The Irish Data Protection Commission found problems involving three Google features: Web & App Activity, Location History, and Android’s Location Accuracy.^[1] The violations concerned transparency, data retention, user control, and whether Google processed location information lawfully and fairly.

Location data can reveal considerably more than where you stopped for coffee. Regularly tracking someone’s movements could expose visits to medical clinics, places of worship, political events, or other sensitive locations.

The ruling covers Google’s practices from May 2018 through February 2020, and Google says it has substantially changed its location tools since then. However, all three settings still exist in some form.

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Why was Google fined?

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission began investigating Google in 2020 after receiving complaints from European consumer organizations.

The regulator concluded that Google violated the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, through its handling of location information associated with:

• Web & App Activity
• Location History, now generally called Timeline
• Android’s Location Accuracy feature

Among other findings, the regulator said Google failed to process certain location data lawfully, fairly, and transparently. It also faulted Google for retaining location information associated with Web & App Activity and Location History.

“As a result of Google’s failures in this regard, individuals could have been unaware that their location was being used to, for example, influence them with ads or to infer their interests, and could lose control over their personal data,” DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said.

A Google spokesperson told Reuters that the case concerns historical policies and that the company has introduced stronger controls since 2019. Those changes include automatic deletion options, storing Maps Timeline data directly on users’ devices, and saving a general area rather than a precise device location with Google searches.

1. Web & App Activity

Web & App Activity saves information about what you do across certain Google products and services.

Depending on your selections, this may include your Chrome history, interactions with apps and websites using Google services, purchases made through advertisers’ sites, and information associated with your activity.

To review Web & App Activity:

1. Open Google’s Activity Controls.
2. Select Web & App Activity.
3. Review whether the setting is turned on.
4. To disable it, select Turn off.
5. Choose Turn off or Turn off and delete activity.

Choose Turn off and delete activity if you also want to erase existing information.

If you want to retain some personalization, you can leave Web & App Activity enabled while unchecking the options to include Chrome history and voice or audio activity. You can also configure Google to automatically delete activity after three, 18, or 36 months.

Google is gradually introducing a separate Search Services History control for products such as Search, Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate, and News. Your menus may therefore look slightly different depending on whether the update has reached your account.

2. Google Maps Timeline

When enabled, Timeline creates a private map of places you visit and the routes you take. It's disabled by default and requires users to opt in. Once enabled, however, it regularly saves the precise location of each eligible device, including when Google apps aren’t open.

To check Timeline:

1. Open the Google Maps app.
2. Tap your profile picture or initial.
3. Select Your Timeline.
4. Tap the three-dot menu.
5. Select Location & privacy settings.
6. Look for Timeline is on or Timeline is off.

From this menu, you can turn Timeline off, automatically delete older information, or delete all saved Timeline data.

Google now stores Timeline primarily on each device. If you enable Timeline backup, Google saves an encrypted copy on its servers so you can recover the information after changing or losing a device.

There is an important catch: Google says edits or deletions made on one device may not be reflected on your other devices. If you have used Timeline across multiple phones or tablets, check each eligible device and any Timeline backups separately.

Turning off Timeline also doesn’t stop Web & App Activity, Search Services History, or other Google products from saving location-related information. Google may still estimate your general area from your IP address.

3. Android Location Accuracy

Android’s Location Accuracy feature combines GPS with nearby Wi-Fi networks, cell towers, and device sensors to determine your location faster and more accurately.

When enabled, Google periodically collects information about wireless signals and sensors near your device. Google says it uses temporary, rotating identifiers that aren’t connected to a particular person or Google account.

To check it on Android 12 or later:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Location.
3. Select Location Services.
4. Tap Location Accuracy.
5. Turn Improve Location Accuracy on or off.

On Android 11 or earlier, go to Settings, then Location, Advanced, and Location Accuracy.

Disabling this feature means your phone will rely primarily on GPS and its built-in sensors. That can make services such as Google Maps and device-finding tools slower or less accurate, especially indoors or around tall buildings.

A less disruptive option is to restrict which apps receive your precise location:

1. Open Settings.
2. Select Location.
3. Tap App location permissions.
4. Select an app.
5. Choose Allow only while using the app, Ask every time, or Don’t allow.
6. Disable precise location when available.

Third-party advertising tools embedded in Android apps may receive the same location access granted to the app itself, so make sure to check those.

Can Google still determine your location?

Changing these three settings can substantially reduce the location information linked to your Google account, but it won’t make your location completely invisible.

Google may still estimate your general area using your IP address. Individual apps can access your location if you’ve granted permission, while photos may contain location metadata. Your mobile carrier and emergency services can also determine or receive your location under certain circumstances.

The key point is that Google doesn't offer one universal switch to control every use of location information. Check Web & App Activity, Timeline, Android Location Accuracy, and individual app permissions separately. Otherwise, turning off the most obvious tracking feature may leave another one quietly collecting information.

Author Details

Thomas Kent

About the Author

Thomas Kent is a multi-disciplined reporter with over a decade of experience covering online platforms, digital trends, and consumer-facing tech. Tom focuses on digital privacy, data tracking, and user behavior, with a particular interest in how cookies, online surveillance, and platform design shape the modern internet experience. His reporting takes a research-driven, news-focused approach, translating complex technical topics into clear, accessible insights.