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Comment by bzb6 | Hacker News Reader

When an app asks for your location for the first time you can choose not to give an exact location. Doesn’t that fix this problem?

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By default you don't share your location with other. You have to activate it yourself in the setting.

What I mean is that when any app asks the user for the first time to grant geolocation privileges, the OS shows a dialog where you can choose not to share a precise location. If you use that they cannot triangulate you that easily.

Which OS?

I think on Android such questions are only about energy preservation, e.g. low-resolution data can be provided via WiFi information, while more precise can require GPS. And if there happens to be more precise information available at the same time (e.g. you use Google Maps), then the app will receive that.

I haven't seen such a dialog, though, so I'm uncertain if it reflects the regular Android location precision system.

Android apps have to request [0] Location Permissions to access the device's location at all. There are different permissions for foreground and background access and for coarse and fine precision, but it does require some explicit permission no matter what.

Now, the app's behavior when denied that permission (i.e., whether you will be allowed to use Tinder at all if you deny location permissions) are up to the developer.

[0] https://developer.android.com/training/location/permissions

iOS. Decent discussion with pic of dialog:

https://9to5mac.com/2020/08/12/ios-14-precise-location/

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