What are negatives of using location services on your phone?

Location services on smartphones allow apps and operating systems to collect data about your location. While this can provide useful features, there are some downsides to consider.

Privacy and Security Risks

One of the biggest potential negatives of using location services is the privacy and security risks. When you enable location access, you’re allowing companies to collect very personal data on where you go, which can reveal a lot about you. Some risks include:

Companies can build detailed profiles about your habits, interests, and more based on places you visit.
There’s potential for location data to be hacked, leaked, or shared without your consent.
Location history can be subpoenaed and used against you legally if involved in a crime.

Stalkers or domestic abusers can potentially access your location data.
Governments may be able to access location information without proper oversight.

While companies often anonymize and aggregate data, there’s still always a risk your personal location details could fall into the wrong hands or be misused.

Battery and Data Usage

Having location services active on your phone can drain battery life faster. Features like GPS and sending your coordinates to apps in the background require extra power. One study found having location services on all the time can reduce battery life by up to 20%.

Location services also increase mobile data usage as your device continually pings cell towers and WiFi networks. Heavy location tracking can add to your monthly data usage costs.

Inaccurate Location Data

While location services have improved accuracy a lot over the years, they can still be inaccurate at times. GPS signals and cell tower triangulation aren’t perfect. This can lead to issues like:

Wrong directions in maps and navigation apps.
Incorrect log of your location history.
Apps thinking you’re somewhere you’re not.

Targeted ads for places you haven’t actually visited.

So the location data collected isn’t always precise. Important to keep in mind if you’re relying on it for critical tasks like navigation.

Constant Tracking

Some may feel uncomfortable knowing their location is being constantly tracked and stored. It may make some feel their privacy is being invaded or that they can’t escape the watchful eye of technology.

Having your real-time location accessible can also enable more convenience features that make people overly reliant on devices. Some may prefer being more disconnected at times.

Use of Location Data for Ads

Many companies use location data for targeted advertising purposes. While this enables ads to be more relevant, some view it as invasive. Facts about location data usage in ads:

Company	Location Data Use
Google	Tracks places you visited to target relevant ads in apps like Maps, Search, and YouTube.
Facebook	Target ads based on locations marked as “Home” and “Work” in profiles.
Snapchat	Targets ads based on real-time location and location history.

While location-based ads can seem intrusive, companies argue it gives users more relevant content. Still, many dislike the level of detail companies have on their movements and habits.

Potential Overreliance on Apps

Some experts argue constantly using location-enabled apps can make people overly reliant on technology. For example:

Using Google Maps too much prevents people from learning to navigate on their own.
Location reminders based on place make it harder to remember tasks and schedules.

Real-time tracking reduces independence and self-sufficiency.

Location convenience features are useful, but overuse can limit personal growth. It’s still important to develop your own navigation abilities and memory.

Risk of Distraction

Location services can also lead to distraction issues. For example:

Constant pings, alerts, and popups from location apps can disrupt focus.
Looking at navigation too much while driving raises safety issues.
Location games like Pokemon Go have led to injuries from distraction.

Disabling location notifications and limiting use in certain conditions is important to avoid distraction. Moderation is key.

Child Safety Concerns

For parents, knowing a child’s location can provide peace of mind. However, there are also risks like:

Kids becoming overly tracked and dependent on parents.

Digital monitoring being used in unhealthy ways by parents.
Potential for child location data to be hacked or leaked.
Kids turning location services off, rendering it ineffective.

Location tracking of kids needs to balance safety with building independence. But overall, location services raise new safety challenges for parents.

Inability to Opt Out Fully

Some operating systems make it hard to opt out of location tracking entirely. Facts about location opt-outs:

OS	Opt-Out Capability
iOS	Can turn off location per app, but not systemwide.
Android	Can disable location systemwide via settings.
Windows	No systemwide opt-out, have to disable per app.

On some platforms, system-level location tracking remains on by default. This makes it hard for privacy-focused users to opt out completely. More universal controls would benefit users.

Risk of Location Data Monetization

Many companies monetize the location data they collect by:

Selling aggregated location data sets to other companies.
Sharing for city planning purposes.

Providing data to law enforcement.

While this data is supposed to be anonymous, there is still a potential privacy risk. Users have little control or say in how their location data is commercialized and shared by companies.

Lack of Transparency Around Policies

Many users don’t actually read location data policies fully. But even when they do, the policies can lack transparency around:

How precise location data is.
How data is anonymized.
Who data is shared with.

How users can delete old location history.

Stronger regulation could improve transparency and consent requirements around location data collection. But currently policies are often vague and unclear.

No Data Anonymization Guarantee

Companies frequently cite anonymizing location data as a security measure. However, anonymizing data isn’t always as reliable as it sounds. One study was able to successfully de-anonymize “anonymous” location datasets and identify people. Key facts about data anonymization:

No laws require anonymization meaning companies follow varying standards.
Re-identifying supposedly anonymous data has been shown to be possible.
Anonymized data sets with enough points can reveal identities.

Companies still collect identifiable location data alongside anonymous data.

Anonymization reduces risk of abuse but doesn’t guarantee full privacy. True anonymization is difficult, especially with large and precise location datasets.

Lack of Delete Options

Many users want the ability to delete old location history. However, some apps and services make this difficult:

Location histories can persist in backups or archives.
Deleting requires digging through complex account or privacy settings.
Only “anonymizing” data rather than full deletion.

No self-service deletion option at all.

Full user control over location data requires easy opt-outs and deletion capabilities. This should be a policy focus for companies.

Potential for Unfair Uses

There are also risks location data could fuel unfair uses like:

Discriminatory housing/loan practices based on places you visit.
More surveillance in lower-income neighborhoods.
Restricting access or opportunities based on past locations.

Assumptions about home or work situation based on location patterns.

While hypothetical, location data does raise the potential for misuse and discrimination absent strong regulatory protections.

Limited Ability to Correct Errors

If location tracking data contains errors, correcting them can be difficult. Users may have no way to:

Access their historical raw location data.
Know algorithms used to analyze the data.
Correct mistaken data conclusions.

Prevent errors impacting them without their awareness.

This makes errors hard to catch and fix. More accountability around location tracking analytics and profiles is needed.

Security Risks of Data Storage

The more location data saved the more it’s vulnerable to security failures like:

Data breaches exposing raw location information.
Poor encryption allowing location hacking.
External attacks on company systems.

Insider threats from employee misconduct.
Government/law enforcement overreach accessing data.

There’s inherent risk storing any sensitive personal information, including location histories. No system is 100% secure.

Lack of Clarity Around Legal Protections

There’s uncertainty around how much legal protection location data receives. Issues include:

No blanket location data privacy laws – it varies based on use case.
Police may be able to access without a warrant in some cases.

Strongest protections typically for location data involving children.
Privacy policies usually give companies rights to share/use data.

More legal clarification on both government and corporate location data use would benefit consumers.

Risk of Misuse by Rogue Employees

Rogue insiders at companies could potentially misuse location data by:

Stalking/tracking people they know.
Selling data to outside parties.

Reviewing data of exes or famous users.
Using data for identity theft and fraud.

Strict controls and auditing help counter insider threats. But risk remains of individuals misusing access to data.

Potential Discrimination by Insurance Companies

Some insurers may use location data to track risky behaviors of customers and raise rates. For example:

Frequenting bars regularly could prompt higher life insurance premiums.
Driving in high crime areas could raise auto insurance prices.

Spending time overseas could factor into health insurance.

Insurers claim this enables risk-based pricing. But it could also enable discrimination against certain demographics unfairly.

Lack of Control on Shared Devices

On shared devices it’s hard to limit how much location data gets accessed. Issues can include:

Friends borrowing your phone and accessing your apps.
Family members with ability to view your location.
Devices remembering locations from past users.

Better multi-user controls could help limit location access on shared devices. But currently protection is difficult.

Data for Targeted Political Ads

Some worry location data could be used to microtarget political ads without user consent. Political advertisers could:

Push messaging based on places visited like gun shops or rallies.

Exclude areas that vote a certain way.
Make assumptions about users’ beliefs based on location history.

While this hasn’t happened widely yet, the potential exists absent regulations. But targeted political advertising raises ethical issues.

Lack of User Consent Options

Users often have little ability to tailor location consent settings like:

Selectively consenting to certain location uses but not others.
Setting data retention limits.

Restricting sharing with third-parties.
Opting out of certain types of tracking.

More granular controls would better empower user consent over how location data gets used.

Inability to Confirm Data Deletion

If users request location data deletion, it’s unclear if companies fully comply. Challenges include:

No way for users to audit if data was actually deleted.
Data may persist in backups not easily accessible.

Terms of service often allow retaining data.
Deleting may just anonymize rather than fully removing.

True deletion requires companies minimizing data retention and allowing user-driven audits of removal.

Potential for Misuse by Law Enforcement

Some express concerns location data could be misused by law enforcement if obtained from companies. Potential dangers include:

Surveilling communities or groups unfairly.
Recreating location history without a court order.

Identifying associates, beliefs, and activities unethically.
Lack of transparency around law enforcement requests.

Clearer rules could safeguard against authorities exploiting commercial location data in concerning ways.

Limited Recourse for Consumer Harm

If location data misuse does harm consumers, they have little recourse. Some limits include:

Arbitration clauses and terms of service prevent lawsuits.
Lack of ability to prove harm from data breaches or leaks.

No clear regulatory body to complain to.
Law enforcement may be unwilling to investigate.

Stronger accountability mechanisms for data misuse would benefit user rights and provide recourse.

Conclusion

Location services provide useful features and functionality to smartphones. However, the potential privacy, security, and ethical downsides are real and worth considering carefully. While no solution addresses all concerns, users should weigh pros and cons before enabling location access.