How To Disable App Tracking on iPhone and Android Devices: A Step-by-Step Guide

Mobile devices have made our lives easier, but they’ve also affected our privacy. A significant concern nowadays is app tracking. While useful to a degree, this activity “feeds” on your information and shares it with third parties, some of which may abuse it for cyberattacks. Luckily, you can get more control over app tracking and prevent companies from monitoring your online behavior and activity regardless of the mobile operating system (OS) you’re using.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to disable app tracking on iPhone and Android devices to protect your privacy and limit unwanted data collection. We’ll also discuss the implications of turning off this feature and explore other methods for preserving your online privacy.

What Is App Tracking?

App tracking involves collecting user and device data from apps. This data can include your:

• • Personal identifiers (name, email address, phone number, etc.)
• • Location
• • Online activity
• • App usage
• • Content interactions
• • Purchase history

Apps share this information with third parties for various purposes, from targeted advertising to monitoring ad effectiveness. This may not seem like an issue at first; after all, using a mobile device nowadays inevitably involves sharing some personal data. If you dig a little deeper, you’ll find that the scope of app tracking goes beyond what you might have realized:

• • Apps often track your data even when you’re not actively using them.
• • Your data can be sold to data brokers and other companies.
• • Tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon can track you even if you’re not using their apps.

Why Would You Want To Disable App Tracking on iOS and Android?

Although it’s common, app tracking represents a potentially harmful practice to users. Below are the key reasons why you may want to stop apps from tracking your data and activity:

How To Remove App Tracking on an iPhone

Thanks to the AppTrackingTransparency framework, which Apple introduced in iOS 14.5 and higher, all apps require your permission to track you or your device across websites or apps owned by other companies. Your initial choice doesn’t have to be final as you can easily change your settings in a few steps:

1. 1. Open Settings
2. 1. Go to Privacy & Security and tap Tracking

You’ll see a list of all apps that have requested and received your permission to track you and your device. Disable permission for specific or all apps on the list for maximum privacy protection.

Apple also allows you to stop all apps from asking permission to track you, and this is especially convenient if you want to ensure you don’t grant permissions by accident. You can do so by turning off Allow Apps to Request to Track at the top of the screen. Note that disabling this option doesn’t affect the apps to which you’ve given tracking permissions in the past; you’ll still have to disable these permissions if you don’t want them tracking you anymore.

How To Disable App Tracking on an Android

Unlike iPhones, Android devices don’t offer system-wide app tracking settings, so disabling this feature isn’t as straightforward, but it’s possible. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. 1. Open the Menu and go to Settings
2. 1. Scroll down and tap Apps
3. 1. Choose a specific app for which you’d like to customize permissions
4. 1. Tap Permissions to review and manage permissions the app has requested. Depending on the app, focus on permissions such as Location, Contacts, Calendar, or Call logs
5. 1. Disable the desired permissions completely or ensure the app asks you every time it requires a specific permission to provide certain services

There’s another approach to disabling app tracking on Android devices. Instead of managing permissions on an app level, you can view and customize system-wide permission usage. Follow the steps below to do it:

1. 1. Launch the Menu and go to Settings
2. 1. Scroll down and open Security and privacy
3. 1. Under Privacy, choose Permissions used in the last 24 hours
4. 1. View all permissions in the last 24 hours or seven days. Choose a permission you’re interested in and see all apps that have it. Disable the permission for the desired apps. From this screen, you can choose to review all permissions for a specific app and control app tracking

Note that the steps may vary depending on your Android version and phone manufacturer. For example, you may see Application manager instead of Apps.

What Other Methods Can You Use To Enhance Your Privacy on an iPhone or Android?

Learning how to stop app tracking on an iPhone or Android is an important step toward enhanced privacy, but it’s not enough to keep your information safe. If you’d like to be more proactive about your privacy, here are five other ways to prevent unwanted tracking and improve privacy and security:

1. 1. Uninstall apps you don’t use
2. 1. Avoid clicking on suspicious links and ads
3. 1. Enable automatic app updates
4. 1. Keep your device updated
5. 1. Change your mobile carrier

Uninstall Apps You Don’t Use

Having enough space on your phone doesn’t mean you should hold on to apps you never use. Besides taking up space, these apps present potential security vulnerabilities, especially if they haven’t been updated for a while. Additionally, these apps could track your data and activity even if you’re not using them frequently or at all.

By uninstalling apps you don’t use, you effectively reduce the attack surface, enhance your device’s security, and improve its performance. Make it a habit to go through your device every few months and remove any apps you no longer benefit from. Set up period reminders for “seasonal device cleaning” to ensure you don’t skip the process.

Avoid Clicking on Suspicious Links and Ads

Besides tracking your data, apps can pose a security threat because they can contain malicious software (malware) or be designed to perform phishing attacks through malicious links and ads.

Danger stems from the fact that even apps that were once legitimate can display fake login pages and malicious links and ads. If an app you frequently use has suddenly sent you a suspicious notification or displayed an unusual ad, ignore it until you’ve confirmed the app is safe. You can do this by:

• • Checking the developer’s website or the App Store/Google Play Store for updates on the app’s safety
• • Browsing online forums to see if other users encountered the same issue
• • Reaching out to the developer directly to ask them about the app’s safety
• • Running a security software with a phishing or malware scanning feature to confirm your suspicions

Enable Automatic App Updates

App updates often contain fixes for glitches and bugs and critical security patches that address potential code vulnerabilities. If you fail to update your apps, hackers could leverage these vulnerabilities to access your device and collect your data.

To prevent this, enable automatic app updates on your device. If you’re an iPhone user, here’s how to do it:

1. 1. Open Settings and select Apps
2. 1. Tap App Store
3. 1. Locate the Automatic Downloads section and switch the toggle button next to App Updates

If you’re an Android user, follow the steps below to set up automatic app updates:

1. 1. Open Google Play and tap your profile picture in the top-right corner
2. 1. Go to Settings
3. 1. Tap Network preferences
4. 1. Select Auto-update apps and choose your preferred option. You can choose to update all apps over Wi-Fi or mobile data, update with a limited amount of mobile data, or update over Wi-Fi only

Keep Your Device Updated

If your device isn’t running on the latest version, it becomes more vulnerable to existing and emerging threats as it doesn’t incorporate the latest patches and fixes. Additionally, if you don’t update your device, you miss out on new features that could enhance the user experience.

Follow the steps below to enable automatic device updates for your iPhone:

1. 1. Go to Settings and select General
2. 1. Choose Software Update and tap Automatic Updates
3. 1. Switch the toggle next to iOS Updates and Security Responses & System Files

Android users can set up automatic device updates by following these steps:

1. 1. Launch Settings, scroll down, and tap Software update
2. 1. Select Auto download and choose when to automatically download software updates

Change Your Mobile Carrier

Your mobile carrier may pose a serious security and privacy threat. Most mobile carriers were built with interoperability as a priority, rather than security. This means that they rely on outdated security protocols that are easy to breach, which we’ve evidently witnessed in numerous data breaches in recent years. Not a single major U.S. carrier has been immune to them.

While security vulnerabilities seem to be an industry-wide challenge, some carriers are more reliable than others. To keep your data safe, consider switching to a privacy-focused carrier such as Cape. Cape offers enhanced security features and adheres to strict data collection, storage, and sharing policies to shield your mobile identity and sensitive information from malicious actors and security threats.

Cape Makes Security the Standard

Mainstream carriers track you, often without your consent. Cape takes a different path. Unlike traditional carriers, Cape doesn’t harvest your data. Our network is engineered to minimize exposure to surveillance and keep your communications private.

Cape’s mobile core is software-based and lives in the cloud. This gives us a unique ability to implement modern security protocols quickly and control how subscriber and usage data interacts with our network systems.

In addition to a strong foundation, Cape offers several other privacy and security features:

Own Full Control of Your Communications: Switch to Cape Now

For $99/month, you get:

• • Unlimited SMS and calls
• • Unlimited 4G/5G
• • Free international roaming (for eligible countries and devices)

The price includes all federal, state, and municipal taxes. No hidden charges or predatory contracts.

We’ve also partnered with Proton so Cape subscribers can extend security beyond the network. Cape subscribers can get Proton Unlimited or Proton VPN Plus for only $1 for six months.

Sign up anonymously in minutes. Visit cape.co/get-cape to switch to Cape today.

Note: We aim to update this page regularly, but for the most up-to-date instructions, please refer to the official iPhone and Android dedicated pages.