GPS (Global Positioning System) is the satellite-based navigation system operated by the US Space Force since 1978, with full operational capability since 1995. Provides position accuracy of 5 to 10 meters for civilian receivers, sub-meter for survey-grade equipment. Embedded in every smartphone, most cameras, many wearables, and an increasing share of consumer products from cars to luggage to pet collars.
What it means in practice
The privacy-relevant property of GPS is one-way: GPS receivers do not transmit anything to the satellites. The system has no idea who is using it. The leak is what happens after the receiver computes its position: the location is captured by the device OS, by apps with location permission, by photos via EXIF GPS, by carrier records via cell-site triangulation (which combines GPS with tower data for higher accuracy), by Wi-Fi positioning services (Skyhook, Apple’s and Google’s databases that tie SSIDs to physical locations). The cumulative effect is that “GPS off” alone does not stop location collection; the OS uses Wi-Fi positioning, cell-tower triangulation, and Bluetooth-beacon networks (Apple Find My, Tile network) to estimate position even when the GPS chip is disabled.
Where it shows up
Captured by every device with a positioning subsystem. The aggregated location data sits with: the OS vendor (Apple Significant Locations, Google Location History), every app that requested location permission, the carrier (cell-site records), Wi-Fi positioning operators (Skyhook, Mozilla Location Service, Apple, Google), license plate readers (Flock Safety, ALPR networks that capture vehicle position even without phone involvement), Find My-style networks (your iPhone helps locate other people’s AirTags whether or not you opted in, by relaying signals to Apple’s servers). The threat surface is broad and the per-source mitigations are different.
What you can change today
Three layers. Phone-level: iPhone Settings, Privacy and Security, Location Services, walk through every app and reduce permissions to “While Using” or “Never,” disable Significant Locations entirely. Android: Settings, Location, Google Location History off, app permissions audited. Photos: turn off location embedding in Camera settings (iOS: Privacy, Location Services, Camera, Never; Android: Camera app, Settings, Save location off). Vehicle: many cars now have built-in modems (Tesla, BMW ConnectedDrive, GM OnStar) that report location; the disable path varies and is sometimes contractual rather than technical. The structural answer for sensitive operations remains: leave the phone home.
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