[Answered] Does Airplane Mode Turn off GPS?

Chris

Does airplane mode turn off GPS?

This is a widely asked question, and many people still remain confused about it. In this post, first we'll clarify this problem, then give a detailed guide on how to stop your phone from being tracked as well as how to fake location if necessary. Let's get started!

Part 1. Does Airplane Mode Turn off Location?

Does airplane mode turn off GPS?
No.

When you switch on the airplane mode of your phone, it basically enters a "do not disturb" zone. However, this only switchs off your phone's cellular service and Wi-Fi. GPS is a different technology to the one operated by airplane mode, as it sends and receives signals directly from the satellite without relying on any cellular service to function.  

Your phone has two separate operating systems. The first one has an interface that connects the user to the phone, while the other operating system connects the phone to the cellular network.
When you turnn off airplane mode, the second OS that serves as a link between the phone and cellular network is switched off while the first one remains switched on and working, which means that you can still be tracked!
The only way that you can completely stop being tracked is by switching off your phone as no signals will be transmitted from it. But you obviously want to use your phone, and that is where location spoofing comes into play.

Part 2. How to Stop Your Phone From Being Tracked?

Have you ever noticed an advertisement related to your current geographical location? Well, most tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Facebook now use mobile geo-targeted ads to reach their audience more directly and use the information to create data banks. And if you're wondering why these apps and phones can track you so effortlessly, it's because you permitted them to do just that.

Most people don't read through terms of agreements on apps or privacy policies so this kind of thing could fly right over your head. Most of them say they track phones to prevent fraud and things like that, but most people see it as nothing less than an invasion of their privacy. Whatever device you're using, accessing the internet means your phone will be tracked. And as we've already discussed that airplane mode does not turn off GPS, we need to take some other measures to stop our phones from being tracked.

1. Opt Out of Ads

You might not know this, but you can opt-out of most of the internet-based advertising on your device. The Digital Advertising Alliance has a consumer choice page that will allow you to see which of its partners are displaying customized ads on your device. You can simply visit the website of the Digital Advertising Alliance, have the site scan your computer and you will see a list of partners. After you know the partners responsible for these ads, you can withdraw by using the "opt-out cookies" function which are in your browser with your preferences. However, you have to note that this process will not remove all the ads that you see online. Advertisers will just be unable to use your location in sending you ads.

2. Use a Private Browser

People using Google Chrome often must be familiar with the incognito mode. In fact, not only Google Chrome, many other web browsers also have similar mode that you can switch on to reduce or prevent the risk of tracking. For example, Microsoft Edge has InPrivate mode that blocks out advertising, social trackers, as well as any form of analytics. By choosing to use a private browser, we can keep our temporary browsing data private and therefore stop the phone from being tracked to some degree.

3. Change the Location Settings on the Phone

This process requires you to dig into the privacy settings known as "Frequent Locations". These settings keep tabs on where you are and how long you are there. This can be quite unsettling but you can easily switch it off.

To turn it off on an Android device:

• 1. Open the Settings app on your phone. Scroll down and select "Location".
• 2. Locate "Google Location Settings" and tap it. Tap "Location Reporting" then "Location History" and then switch off the slider.

• 3. If you want to delete the location cache of your device, then simply navigate to the bottom of the screen and tap "Delete Location History".
• 4. Do this for each Google account that you have on that Android device.

To turn it off on an Apple device:

• 1. Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.

• 2. Scroll down and select "System Services". Tap "Significant Locations" so you can see the record of where you've been on your device, and then de-select it to switch it off. You can also decide to clear the history by clicking "Clear History".

4. Controlling App Permissions

Some apps take more information than they need just so they can send it to companies that want to use it for targeted advertising. This is why you should check your app permissions whenever you install a new application. By doing so, you'll have more control over your device's privacy and also detect any apps spying on you in the background.

Before you install any app on your device, make sure you know all the permissions that the app requires by checking the Google Play or Apple App Store for the app's details. Android devices will give you a list of the permission requests once you finish installing the app. iOS devices will usually show a permission access pop-up that uses a feature requiring specific access to your gadget.

5. Minimize Ad Tracking

Completely ending location tracking might be a bit too much, as it will make it inconvenient to use some applications. But luckily, you can get rid of the ads that are using your location information.

Android and iOS devices have built-in options that allow you to limit ad tracking. Not only will these tools stop advertising and tech companies from tracking your phone activities, but they will also free your device from any targeted advertising profile that has already been attached to it. Below is how to stop your phone from being tracked through ads.

For Android devices: Navigate to Settings, then go to Google. Select "Ads" and then switch on "Opt-out of ads personalization".

For iOS devices: Go to Settings > Privacy > Apple Advertising, and switch off the "Personalized Ads" option. Whereas, it should be noted that this operation "will not reduce the number of ads you receive".

6. Check Your Online Accounts

Once you create an account on an online platform like Facebook, Google, or Microsoft, you begin providing them with information regarding your location and personal preferences. With every tap or click their algorithms will take in data from you and all the "activities" will be used for targeted posts and ads.

Fortunately, most of these companies allow you to withdraw from personalized ad tracking. You can simply check the privacy control settings and change them to fit your needs.

Part 3. How to Change/Spoof/Fake Location Effectively and Easily?

As we have established above, switching off airplane mode will NOT prevent your phone from being tracked and there are several ways you can take to prevent people and companies from tracking you through your location. But in fact none of them works perfectly and secure your privacy absolutely.

To avoid being tracked to the great extent without affecting the normal use of apps, the best method is to change location, i.e. using a spoofing application to trick your phone into believing you're in a different location from the one you're actually in. For this intention, the most suitable tool is UnicTool TailorGo.

• Change GPS location to anywhere instantly.
• Simulate GPS movement along customized routes with designed speed.
• Work well on a full range of location-based apps, such as WeChat, Life360, WhatsApp and Pokemon Go.
• Only simple steps are required. No technical knowledge is needed.
• Pose no security risk to devices or apps.
• Powerful enough to supports both Android devices and iOS devices.
• Smooth performance with no lag or crash.

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Here is how to change/spoof/fake location effectively and easily with TailorGo:

• 1 Download, install and launch TailorGo on your computer. Then click the "Get Started" button and connect yout device to it.

• 2 To simply change location, choose the Teleport Mode and select the destination. To simulate GPS movement, choose either the Two-Spot Mode or Multi-Spot Mode, then plan a route to move along.

• 3 Click the "Move" button. Then your location will be changed easily; or the movement will be completed successfully.

Conclusion

Does Airplane mode turn off location? And if you've been wondering whether airplane mode turns off GPS and stops tracking, I believe you've found the answer after reading this article - switching airplane mode on is not an effective way to prevent GPS tracking.

No one enjoys being tracked through their GPS movement by third-party applications, and as we have shown, there are several ways you can reduce the risk. Still, the best way seems to be changing/spoof/faking location and the professional tool TailorGo can help everyone make it easily.

Apart from privacy consideration, TailorGo is also helpful for recreational purpose and works well on Pokemon Go, Snapchat, and other various applications. Don't hesitate to download and have a try! Of the methods listed above, or better still download TailorGo and use it to spoof your location.