Hi All,
Does anyone knows an app that can remotely enable Google's location or GPS service on Galaxy Nexus. So far I tried, WhereIsMyDroid, Androidlost, SeekDroid, Lookout etc. none of them is able to enable GPS or other location services remotely on my phone.
Astrit
Hi Guys,
I know of the solution of using Fake GPS apps that employ mock locations in the developer settings. Does anyone know a solution (device is rooted, xposed installed too) to spoof location for a single app only? I want to toggle and use GPS for all other applications independently using my built-in GPS, but for that app to work properly my location needs to stay the same all the time.
Thanks,
mk
I havê looked far and wide for gps spoofing apps that could mock a certain location, without issue, but I keep getting what pokemon go spoofers call rubberbanding.
I was looking to mock my location so I could manage to meet Someone while maintaining my location at my job, to elude my wife, who hás access to my location history on her phone. My thoughts were on having a way to disable and reenable the antenna, thus being able to trick google's play services with a spoofing app. But I do not know how to code.
I am on an Oukitel U15pro, stock rom, and have my phone rooted with Magisk because of my banking apps.
Thank you.
I have installed a fake GPS application (Lockito) and set it up as Mock Location App. It doesn't actually matter which one I use, it's always the same behaviour.
I start a route, but it's jumping to my real location every 4 to 5 seconds, stays there for a similar amount of time and jumps back to my faked location.
My understanding is that this mock locations dev option would overrule ANY location update from somewhere else, but seems it isn't.
What I tried:
- Device administrator: turn off any administrator
- Location set to "GPS only".
- turn off wifi scanning
- smalli patch activated in magisk (with mock location checked)
- fused location on (or off) -- no change in behaviour
- Using the "experimental mode" of Fake GPS routes: no change in behaviour
- Google Play Services 21.2.12-16 (I tried uninstalling the current version, but this leaves my fake gps app not working)
- Installing the app as a system app (restart afterwards): no change compared with the normal
- Google Maps 10.47.1 (reverted this back to 9.26.1)
So, what I'm wondering is: what process is injecting my real location?
And should that even happen when using the mock locations? As far as I know if I would be using mock locations it should just use this info as my gps information... And not use any other data?
Does anyone have any hints on what I can still try?
coder.toolbox said:
I have installed a fake GPS application (Lockito) and set it up as Mock Location App. It doesn't actually matter which one I use, it's always the same behaviour.
I start a route, but it's jumping to my real location every 4 to 5 seconds, stays there for a similar amount of time and jumps back to my faked location.
My understanding is that this mock locations dev option would overrule ANY location update from somewhere else, but seems it isn't.
What I tried:
- Device administrator: turn off any administrator
- Location set to "GPS only".
- turn off wifi scanning
- smalli patch activated in magisk (with mock location checked)
- fused location on (or off) -- no change in behaviour
- Using the "experimental mode" of Fake GPS routes: no change in behaviour
- Google Play Services 21.2.12-16 (I tried uninstalling the current version, but this leaves my fake gps app not working)
- Installing the app as a system app (restart afterwards): no change compared with the normal
- Google Maps 10.47.1 (reverted this back to 9.26.1)
So, what I'm wondering is: what process is injecting my real location?
And should that even happen when using the mock locations? As far as I know if I would be using mock locations it should just use this info as my gps information... And not use any other data?
Does anyone have any hints on what I can still try?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Find your location settings on system settings, select your Google account then turn off location accuracy, you want the location setting on, but you don't want the improved accuracy.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Droidriven said:
Find your location settings on system settings, select your Google account then turn off location accuracy, you want the location setting on, but you don't want the improved accuracy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. This I knew already. Yesterday night I finally figured it out what was going on & posted it here: forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=83200513&postcount=6163.
This would be a big leap in privacy if we can pull it off together.
Do you know if there is a way to permanently disable precise location & Wi-Fi scanning switches from turning on?
Google Location Accuracy = assisted_gps_enabled
How can we turn this (permanently OFF!)
Wi-Fi scanning = wifi_scan_always_enabled
How can we turn this (permanently OFF!)
Bluetooth scanning = ble_scan_always_enabled
How can we turn this (permanently OFF!)
Keeping in mind these basic inviolate privacy rules... everything below that question above is merely a detail as to WHY I want to permanently turn these three switches off.
Never do I need or want to use anything but the GPS radio for location accuracy.
And never do I wish to upload my location to Google.
And never do I wish to upload anyone's Wi-Fi AP BSSID to Google
And never will I create ANY account on my phone (especially a Google Account!).
The pernicious problem described below did NOT use to be the case.
android.permission.ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION
Luckily, this stays off usually, after I turn it off
android.permission.ACCESS_COURSE_LOCATION
Practically, this is required for GPS, so it must be turned on
android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
I NEVER want this on but this keeps turning back on
It seems now, that every "map related" app that links in the GSF spyware, forces upon us wholly unnecessary de facto Google spying by needlessly requiring the app to turn on two pernicious Google spyware settings, even if you constantly turn those to settings off!
Google Location Accuracy = off
Wi-Fi scanning = off
It used to be that apps which needed your location would politely "ask" but you could turn on the GPS radio manually, and the map-routing apps would all accept that they had sufficient GPS-only information without resorting to uploading your location needlessly to Google servers.
Recently I tested the following parked-car finder apps, all of which perniciously turned on these completely unnecessary Google GSF spyware uploads to the Google servers!
Parked Car by Myroslav Kolodii
Free, ad free, requires GSF, 4.4star, 179 reviews, 10K+Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.unagit.parkedcar>
Car Location by DigitalBox Studios
Free, ad free, requires GSF, not rated, not reviewed, 500+Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.carparking.location>
Find my parked car by Aurum App
Free, has ads, requires GSF, 4.6 star, 32.7K reviews, 1M+ Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.carfind>
The technical part of this privacy problem is no matter how many times I turn precise location off, either globally or per app, many (if not almost all) location-aware apps (with GSF spyware linked in) turn it back on.
I don't ever want any app to ever be able to turn precise location on.
I have zero desire to use Wi-Fi access points and Bluetooth beacons to determine my precise location, particularly since I often spoof GPS. (I'm guessing the bluetooth spyware switch uses beacons, but I don't know that for a fact.)
Unfortunately for me, almost every app which asks for location nowadays (which uses the GSF spyware), automatically turns on both "Use precise location" & "Wi-Fi Scanning" no matter whether you've already turned precise location access off for that specific app a billion times already.
To be clear, this location tracking spyware situation doesn't matter if you don't even have a Google Account on the phone (which I don't have) because that's not the location tracking that I'm talking about here.
Android 12 Settings > Privacy > Google location history > empty
{I'm not talking about this location tracking as I have no Google Account
It doesn't even matter if you've globally turned the switches off in the Android 12 settings!
Android12 Settings > Location > Location Services >
Google Location Accuracy = off
Wi-Fi scanning = off
Bluetooth scanning = off
Even if you have every app that needs GPS set to "Allow only while using the app", many of those apps will ask EVERY TIME for "precise location".
Android12 Settings > Apps > Permission manager > Location > {app} >
Use precise location = off
The reason is most gps-enabled apps keep turning these precise location switches back on!
Even if you have your Wi-Fi radio & Bluetooth radio turned off, many of those apps still ask EVERY TIME for "precise location" - and worse - the apps won't run until you say yes to the request for location, and then saying yes will automatically turn on precise location every time.
Worse than all that, even if you already turned on the GPS and you already turned off precise location for all your apps and you already set every app to only use the location when the app is running, still most apps will ask for precise location (and then you can manually turn it off yet again).
I turned off all the system apps location permission that I could in
Android12 Settings > Location > App permissions >
Show system > Allowed all the time >
But some of them are grayed out and therefore can't be turned off.
Fused Location = Allow all the time (grayed out)
Fused Location = Use precise location (grayed out)
Samsung Location SDK = Allow all the time (grayed out)
Samsung Location SDK = Use precise location (grayed out)
The fact remains that, since I care about my privacy, I do NOT wish to upload my location to Google servers. Nor do I wish to upload all the BSSIDs around me to Google. And I also don't want any app using them for location. Ever!
I will never want precise location to be turned on, mainly because it gives away my true location (in terms of other people's Wi-Fi access points) and more importantly because I never will need location accuracy better than GPS which is just fine for what I want and for what I need.
In summary...
Do you know if there is a way to permanently disable precise location & Wi-Fi scanning?
NOTE: I'm not rooted (the Galaxy A32-5G SM-A326U apparently can't be rooted) & I therefore don't have Tasker nor, for privacy reasons do I have IFTTT (if this, then that requires a mothership account) but just in case automation forms the basis of a workaround, today I installed both MacroDroid & Automate which are better behaved than IFTTT is on privacy (but I don't yet know if they can do the job of turning off the GSF "assisted_gps_enabled" & inherently malevolent spyware permissions).
Also I have adb working well from Windows over Wi-Fi (for scrcpy/sndcpy & vysor), so maybe I can permanently revoke the permissions using that?
---
REFERENCES
<https://developer.android.com/training/location/permissions>
<https://developer.android.com/training/location/permissions#upgrade-to-precise>
<https://www.androidpolice.com/how-to-disable-google-location-tracking/>
<https://www.reviewgeek.com/127460/how-to-disable-precise-location-tracking-on-iphone-or-android/>
<https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-get-google-to-quit-tracking-you>
<https://hothardware.com/news/stop-apps-knowingprecise-location-and-why>
<https://androidforums.com/threads/how-to-disable-high-accuracy-location-service-permanently.1267243/>
Using ADB you at any time can grant / revoke permissionsA one-liner that helps granting or revoking vulnerable permissions.
granting
Code:
adb shell pm grant <sample.package.id> android.permission.<PERMISSION_NAME>
revoking
Code:
adb shell pm revoke <sample.package.id> android.permission.<PERMISSION_NAME>
Did you manage to achieve your goal? Using App Ops is really showing how often google checks your location...
Is the adb idea working?
Yeah, that stuff is all pernicious.
I run an external GPS through UDP and mock location daemon.
I don't want Google to ever listen for WiFi or BT.
It's pesky, every time I start Maps it's always asking me if I want to turn their stuff on.
Bad news.
Apparently Google has recently changed the
Android Google Maps app such that it no longer routes using only GPS.
I tested it without a Google account, and with the following turned off in the Android 12 Settings.
Settings > Location > Location services >
Google Location Accuracy > Improve Location Accuracy = off
Settings > Location > Location services > Improve Accuracy
Wi-Fi scanning = off
Bluetooth scanning = off
Google Maps now requires WiFi scanning to use navigation [April 4, 2023]
<https://www.deceptive.design/articles/google-maps-now-requires-wifi-scanning-to-use-navigation>
<
https://www.reddit.com/r/hackernews/comments/si6wx2
>
<
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1488641697227624448>
<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30167865 >
<https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20220204-google-map-wi-fi-gps/>
"Now, enter a new update. I can no longer navigate with Google Maps, unless
full location tracking is on. Comments in Play Store indicate others hit
the same wall."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and
"a further update to Google Maps will prevent navigation on Google Maps
without fully allowing location tracking."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even the official Google Play Store Google Maps app description says it can't use only GPS anymore also.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.maps
There are only two choices now, none of them are GPS only anymore.
Location Permission
"precise location (GPS and network-based)"
"approximate location (network-based)."
There no longer seems to be an option in Google Maps for GPS only location. Am I right or wrong?
GalaxyA325G said:
Bad news.
Apparently Google has recently changed the
Android Google Maps app such that it no longer routes using only GPS.
I tested it without a Google account, and with the following turned off in the Android 12 Settings.
Settings > Location > Location services >
Google Location Accuracy > Improve Location Accuracy = off
Settings > Location > Location services > Improve Accuracy
Wi-Fi scanning = off
Bluetooth scanning = off
Google Maps now requires WiFi scanning to use navigation [April 4, 2023]
<https://www.deceptive.design/articles/google-maps-now-requires-wifi-scanning-to-use-navigation>
<
https://www.reddit.com/r/hackernews/comments/si6wx2
>
<
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1488641697227624448>
<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30167865 >
<https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20220204-google-map-wi-fi-gps/>
and
Even the official Google Play Store Google Maps app description says it can't use only GPS anymore also.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.maps
There are only two choices now, none of them are GPS only anymore.
Location Permission
"precise location (GPS and network-based)"
"approximate location (network-based)."
There no longer seems to be an option in Google Maps for GPS only location. Am I right or wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me Wifi-Scanning is off and Maps works fine. Not sure though, if Maps is maybe somehow still using it or whatever google/maps able to do.
Iam on Android 13 though (and custom Rom + rooted, not sure how much this plays a role)