Stopping Apps from Using Location for Ads

I was curious about why I kept getting ads for a hiking shoe brand on my Instagram feed after I'd only visited a local trailhead once. I didn't search for the shoes; I just went to the park. It turns out, my phone's location was being bundled up and sold to ad networks through a complex chain of trackers. It’s not just Google knowing your location—it’s the dozens of third-party SDKs buried inside your favorite weather or games apps. This is how the "geo-fence" marketing works, and honestly, it’s one of the most annoying parts of owning a smartphone. But you can put a stop to much of it if you know where the levers are.

How location reaches ad networks

When you give an app permission to see your location, you aren't just giving it to the developer. Most apps use third-party tools (SDKs) to handle things like analytics or ads. These tools essentially "hitch a ride" on the permission you granted. If a weather app sees you are at a specific shopping mall, the ad network inside that app can broadcast that coordinate to an ad exchange.

This happens in milliseconds. Your latitude and longitude get turned into a "profile" of where you spend your time. If you move through a high-income neighborhood every morning, you're tagged as a certain demographic. If you visit a pharmacy, you might start seeing health-related ads. It's a gold mine for marketers, and your Android phone is the shovel they use to dig it up.

The advertising ID role

The "glue" that connects your location to your identity is the Advertising ID. This is a string of numbers unique to your device. When the weather app sends your location to an ad network, it also sends this ID. This is how the ad network knows that the person at the trailhead is the same person who checked their email five minutes later.

Think of the Advertising ID as a license plate for your phone. Without it, companies might see a location ping, but they struggle to link it to your specific "file." On my Pixel, one of the first things I did was dive into the settings to scramble or delete this ID. Google has made this slightly easier in recent versions of Android, but they don't exactly shout it from the rooftops because their business model depends on those IDs.

Opting out at every layer

Stopping this requires a multi-layer approach. You can't just flip one switch and be done. I found that I had to attack this from three different angles to really see a difference in the ads I was getting.

Layer 1: App Permissions

Go to Settings > Privacy > Permission manager > Location. Look for apps that have "Always" access. Very few apps need this. Even Google Maps works fine if you only give it access while you're using it. If an app doesn't need your location to function (like a calculator or a basic game), set it to "Don't allow."

Layer 2: Google's "My Ad Center"

This is a web-based setting that controls your Google account. In your Android settings, go to Google > Manage your Google Account > Data & privacy > My Ad Center. Turn off "Personalized ads." This tells Google to stop using your location history to serve you targeted ads across their ecosystem.

Layer 3: Precise Location

Android 12 and later introduced a "Precise vs. Approximate" toggle. When an app asks for location, you can choose "Approximate." This tells the app you're in the general city area (about a 3-square-kilometer radius) rather than showing them exactly which house you're in. This is perfect for weather apps.

Private DNS as a backstop

Even with all those toggles off, some persistent apps try to "home" via known tracking URLs. One trick I've used on my last three phones is setting up a Private DNS. It acts like a filter for your entire phone's internet connection, blocking requests to known ad and tracker servers before they even leave your device.

Go to Settings > Network & internet > Private DNS. Choose "Private DNS provider hostname" and enter something like dns.adguard.com or p2.freedns.controld.com. This isn't a perfect fix—some apps might act a little glitchy—but it's a powerful way to cut off the "phone home" signal that ad networks rely on. I've found that this blocks about 80% of the background "noise" that apps try to send out.

Samsung Ad ID settings

If you're on a Samsung, you have an extra layer of "helpfulness" to deal with. Samsung has their own marketing services that sit on top of Google's. Every time I set up a new Galaxy phone, I find myself hunting through the "Customization Service" settings.

Go to Settings > Security and privacy > More privacy settings > Customization Service. You'll see a toggle for "Customized ads and direct marketing." Turn that off. Also, look at "Data categories" and uncheck "Location." If you don't do this, Samsung will collect your location data independently of Google to send you "personalized offers" (ads) for their latest tablets or watches. It’s frustrating that we have to opt-out twice, but that's the price of the Samsung ecosystem.

Auditing what's still leaking

Finally, it’s good to do a "vibe check" every month. Android's Privacy Dashboard (found under Privacy in Settings) is your best friend here. It shows a timeline of exactly when apps accessed your location.

A concrete example from my own phone: I noticed a "Retailer's App" was checking my location every time I walked past their physical store, even though I hadn't opened the app in weeks. I realized I’d accidentally left "Background Location" on for them. By checking the dashboard once a month, you can catch these "leakages" and revoke permissions. It’s a bit of a cat-and-mouse game, but managing your location data is the single most effective way to stop the creepy "how did they know I was there?" feeling from your digital life.