As we have more and more applications installed on the system, it becomes imperative to know precisely what permissions you have access to. One of the most sensitive and one that many applications require is location. Not everyone needs this access, and those who need it should not always have access to it. For this reason we must know which apps have permission to the location on Android.
Android has been improving this aspect with the update of each version. Before, an app could have access to the location if we accepted the initial permission, but afterwards we had no control to be able to revoke this access unless it was uninstalled. Now we can limit this access without having to delete the app, but for this it is convenient to know where to consult the information of all installed apps, including those that come with the system, that have access to the location.
Where to check the access of the apps to the location
In order to find out, we will have to enter Settings / Location and then look for the option “Access applications to the location”. We can also access the option, looking directly for “Location” from the search box in the Settings menu. Once inside, we can see the list of apps to which we have granted access to the location.
In principle, we will be shown the applications installed by ourselves, but it is advisable to also activate those of the system, by clicking on the three points in the upper right part and clicking on “Show System”. Now we will see at a glance all the apps with the various types of location access granted.
Why it is important to review the list
Once we have the list in front of us, it is important to do a review, since it is easy to have accidentally conceived permissions to the location at some point. In addition, controlling access to the location of applications will allow us to increase privacy and save battery, by preventing them from generating the energy consumption required by this permission. The list will be divided into the following types of permits:
- Always allowed : this list should be limited to a few applications or services, which we know for sure require permanent access to function properly.
- Allowed only while in use: Applications that only use location while in use are located here, and will be automatically revoked when the app is closed.
- Always ask: applications that we want to have more controlled and will always request access to the location to function.
- Denied: they are applications that not even remotely should have access to the location, or it does not make sense that they do. Here we can include file cleaning tools, various games or multimedia content services.