“Your Location Is Currently in Use” on Windows – What It Means and How to Stop It

Ever seen that “Your location is currently in use” message pop up on your Windows PC? It’s enough to make you wonder—who’s tracking me? Is my privacy at risk?

The short answer: some app or service is actively using your location, and Windows is letting you know. While this isn’t always a bad thing, letting the wrong apps access your location can be a serious privacy issue. If you want full control over your data, keep reading.

What Does “Your Location Is Currently in Use” Mean?

This message appears whenever an app, system process, or service is using your device’s location. This could be:

• System services like the Weather app, time zone settings, or “Find My Device”
• Web browsers requesting location data for search results, ads, or local services
• Navigation and mapping apps like Google Maps or Microsoft Maps
• Background services such as Bluetooth scanning or Windows Store apps

In most cases, this isn’t a sign of spyware or hacking, but it does mean an application has access to your exact location. If you didn’t grant that permission knowingly, it’s time to take action.

How to Check Which Apps Are Using Your Location

If you want to find out which apps have accessed your location, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings by pressing Windows Key + I
2. Go to Privacy & Security > Location
3. Scroll down to “Recent Activity” to see a list of apps that have used your location

If you see something unfamiliar, it’s best to revoke its access immediately.

How to Stop “Your Location Is Currently in Use” on Windows

1. Disable Location Services Completely

For the most privacy, you can turn off location services entirely:

1. Open Settings and go to Privacy & Security > Location
2. Toggle off “Location Services”

This prevents all apps and services from accessing your location, but it also disables useful features like Maps, Weather, and Find My Device.

2. Stop Specific Apps from Accessing Your Location

If you only want to block certain apps, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Location
2. Scroll down to “Let apps access your location”
3. Toggle off location access for apps you don’t trust

Keep in mind that Windows only lets you control Microsoft Store apps this way. If you have third-party apps installed separately, you’ll need to adjust their settings manually.

3. Hide the Location Icon from the Taskbar

If the constant location icon is annoying but you don’t want to disable tracking entirely, you can remove it from the taskbar using the Windows Registry:

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter
2. Navigate to:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lfsvc\Service\Configuration
3. Double-click on “Status” and change its value to 0
4. Click OK, then restart your PC

This removes the icon but does not disable location tracking.

4. Set a Fake Default Location

If you don’t want apps to use your real location, you can set a custom one:

1. Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Location
2. Click “Set default location”
3. Enter a different address manually

Now, apps that rely on Windows for location services will use this fake location instead of your actual one.

5. Clear Your Location History

Windows stores location history for a limited time, but you can erase it manually:

1. Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Location
2. Scroll down to “Location History” and click “Clear”

This removes all stored location data from your device.

6. Disable Location Tracking in Your Browser

Many websites request location data when you browse the internet. To prevent this, disable location tracking in your browser settings.

For Chrome Users

1. Open Chrome and type chrome://settings/content/location in the address bar
2. Toggle on “Don’t allow sites to see your location”
3. Review and remove any sites that already have permission

For Edge Users

1. Go to Edge Settings > Cookies and Site Permissions > Location
2. Block location access for all websites

This prevents browsers from exposing your location while you surf the web.

FAQs About “Your Location Is Currently in Use” on Windows

Q: Can I disable the “Your Location Is Currently in Use” notification but keep location tracking on?

Yes. You can hide the notification using the Registry Editor (Win + R > regedit) or by disabling location-related notifications in Settings > System > Notifications.

Q: Does disabling location services improve performance?

Slightly. Some background services stop running, which may save a small amount of battery and processing power.

Q: Can malware trigger the “Your Location Is Currently in Use” message?

It’s rare, but possible. If the message appears when no known app is using location services, run a full malware scan using Windows Defender or a third-party antivirus tool.

Final Thoughts: Take Control of Your Privacy

Location tracking can be useful, but giving apps unrestricted access to your data is a risk. Fortunately, Windows gives you multiple ways to take back control:

• Turn off location services completely if you don’t need them
• Limit access to only the apps you trust
• Clear your location history regularly
• Set a default location to mislead apps
• Block websites from using your location data

By following these steps, you stay in control of your privacy and prevent unnecessary tracking.