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You can control which features each app has permission to use in the Settings app. If Location is listed as a possible permission for this app and it's turned on, you can disable Location for this app by swiping the Location button to the left.
If you don't want the Camera to have access to your location, for example, you can disable it in App permissions. This is the "nuclear option" — you can turn off location tracking for all apps at once. If you do this, though, you won't be able to navigate with Google Maps or use other common location features on your phone.
Find "Location" and swipe the button to the left to turn it off. This personal data, however, makes your phone a prime target for thieves of all sorts to turn your privacy into illicit profit. Threats can range from hackers that are out to steal your personal data to nosy individuals who want to dig up dirt that can be used against you.
Law enforcement also can't be ignored, as they have the power to subpoena your device arbitrarily. Fortunately, your Galaxy S10 comes with options developed specifically with your security and privacy in mind.
You probably have some of the more obvious security measures addressed already, but it's still a great idea to look over all the settings we've highlighted below just to be on the safe side. The setup process on your S10 can be a little tedious, and if you rushed through it, you might've given your device permission to log your location history.
As the name implies, this feature constantly monitors your movements, which you can then view anytime by accessing this this link and signing in using the Google account linked to your phone. To disable location history, open Settings, then navigate to either "Privacy" or "Location," and select "Google Location History. Having important notifications like incoming messages, emails, and calendars in full view can have some serious repercussions is someone happens to come across them.
If you want to keep this potential disaster from happening, you'll need to get into the "Notifications" menu within Settings and tap on the toggle next to each app you wish to keep private to disable alerts. Additionally, some apps give you the option to receive notifications silently.
To access this, you'll need to get into the app's notification settings by tapping on its name. Once inside, hit specific alert elements for the app under the "Categories" section, then select "Silent" on the following page, and toggle "Minimize notifications" on to keep your alerts even more discreet.
Notifications that appear on your S10's lock screen can also be problematic privacy-wise. From there, you have the ability to disable lock screen notifications altogether by tapping the toggle at the top of the screen to turn the feature off.
If you still want to receive alerts, but in a more secure manner, you can either hide the content of the alert by enabling the "Hide content" toggle, or select "Icons only" from the "View styles" menu. Some specialized apps need to access to your S10's notifications to function as they should.
WhatsRemoved, for example, saves WhatsApp notifications as they arrive to give you the ability to view them in case the sender deletes them. Obviously, a majority of apps won't need this level of access to run normally. Once inside, simply tap on the toggles to turn off the feature for any apps that don't need access to your phone's notifications. When you first open an app, you're often prompted to let it access important functions like your S10's microphones and cameras. If you breezed through the initial setup, there's a fair chance that you may have granted the app permission to access sensitive information it can otherwise do without.
On the next screen, select Advanced , then turn off the toggle for Network notification. If your carrier has a setting for auto-connecting to its own hotspots, I suggest turning that off as well.
Enabling repeat calls and calls from favorite contacts is a good idea for emergencies. Arguably the neatest feature on Samsung phones, App Pairs let you quickly launch two apps side by side.
To put this side panel to even greater use, hit the gear icon in the bottom-left corner of the screen while viewing the panel. From here, you can add shortcuts to your contacts list, reminders, clipboard, and more. Turn it on by swiping diagonally out from the bottom corner of the screen, and turn it back off by tapping anywhere outside the one-handed area.
Google Messages , for instance, lets you read and send texts from your computer by visiting messages. To protect yourself in emergencies, you can set up an SOS feature that sends a message to emergency contacts of your choosing when you quickly press the power button three times. You can also optionally have the phone send an audio recording and photos from the front an rear cameras. Jared Newman covers personal technology from his remote Cincinnati outpost. He also publishes two newsletters, Advisorator for tech advice and Cord Cutter Weekly for help with ditching cable or satellite TV.