These days, we all joke about our tech and social media listening in on us. We mention a casual interest in passing and, within a day, see an advertisement online relating to it without ever having put it through Google. Creepy, right? For many, this gets chalked up as a mere coincidence. However, though your Facebook account might not be directly eavesdropping on your conversations at work, something similar and just as sneaky is happening.

A staggering amount of your data is divulged just through your location, which many apps on your phone request permission to use. It’s usually buried in the “terms and conditions” that rarely get read through, or is presented as a question when you first download something. Even your car may tell everyone where you are. Your online habits can be watched, logged, and used to target you. If someone was able to compromise the app’s security, the implications can have real-world consequences. You may even be giving them everything they need just on social media.

According to The New York Times, over 75 companies receive precise location data from various phone apps. Some of those businesses claim to track upwards of 200 million mobile devices in the US alone.

It’s convenient to keep “location” services turned on for your phone in order to use certain apps. What’s the harm, right? I just want to get a coffee from somewhere close by. Whether it’s in your car or on your phone, your location data is a prime target for all kinds of threats.

Unlike many other threats to our privacy that we face today, this one has a relatively easy fix: Keep your location on your phone turned off unless you have to use it for an app. Then, turn it back off again after you close the app. Simple as that.

It’s your phone number.
It’s your email address.
It’s none of their business.
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