If your location settings are always ON and allow every application to access the locations, “Your Location is Currently in Use” is a common prompt you may get on your PC. This means that the running application or website you have visited uses your location as a data pointer and collects information about it.
For some users, sharing their location information with these applications is OK. However, for some, it may be a point of concern. Not to mention, the round icon that pops up every time your location is accessed can be quite frustrating for a user.
In this post, we will examine how you can manage “Your Location is Currently in Use” prompts on Windows.
What Does “Your Location is Currently in Use” Mean on Windows?
As mentioned, some apps and features require your location data to work properly. One of the best examples is your weather application. It automatically detects your location and timezone to give you the most accurate information about the weather in a nearby locality. Eventually, this feature will become useful and will simplify many processes for you.
However, sometimes apps misuse this feature and use location to show ads or trace your footprint. Hence, users should keep this in mind. Also, sometimes, the prompt that appears is a sign that malware or spyware is continuously accessing your location.
If you fear an unethical app or feature will access your data, you can change settings directly to prevent this. Check out the following section to learn how.
How to Disable Location is Currently in Use Prompt on the PC?
Knowing which applications use your PC’s location permissions gives you an edge, as you can directly change these settings to improve them.
In case you are unaware of how to do so or what the ways to fix Your Location is Currently in Use prompt, check out the following methods –
Method 1 – Open System Setting to turn Off Location Access
Step 1 – Press Win+I to open System Settings
Step 2 – In System Settings, use the Privacy & Security settings.
Step 3 – Check if the toggle for Location Services is ON. If it is, toggle it OFF.
This way, you can easily turn off location access to the apps you use on your PC. This completely toggles the sharing; hence, if you want to use the services selectively, check out the next method.
Method 2 – Selectively Turn Off System Location Access for Specific Application
Step 1 – Use steps 1 and 2 from Method 1 to access location service settings.
Step 2 – On the opened page, scroll down to find all the applications that can use location services.
Step 3 – Use the toggle button to turn OFF location access to these services.
The apps you select can now access the location services; otherwise, the rest will remain off. You can do all this manually to ensure you no longer worry about applications accessing your location without your consent.
Method 3 – Run a Malware/Spyware Scan
Step 1 – Download and install T9 Antivirus on your PC.
Step 2 – Run a quick scan using the Scan Now button.
Step 3 – Let it run. It will identify all the issues on your files to identify what is causing the error.
Step 4 – Once the scan is over, restart your PC.
If you have toggled off the Location service but still see the prompt on your screen, there is a high chance that spyware or malware is active on the PC and fetching your location data. This can be a problem as someone may be tracking you. Not to mention, if it is a malware attack, it may be a misconfiguration error caused by the same. Hence, we highly recommend you install T9 Antivirus and use the above methods to eliminate the errors.
Method 4 – Hide the Your Location is Currently in Use Prompt Via Registry
Step 1 – Press Win+R to open the Run Search.
Step 2 – In the Run search, use the command Regedit and hit enter to open the registry editor on Windows.
Step 3 – Use the following address to navigate to the desired registry that requires an edit –
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lfsvc\Service\Configuration
Step 4 – Click the Status key to open its value after navigating it. Change the Value Data to Zero.
This way, you will have successfully edited the registry to ensure that the location prompt no longer appears and does not bother you. The above steps will allow you to enable apps that can use location access on a PC; however, they will hide the prompts.
Method 5 – Disable Icon Access from the Taskbar
Step 1 – Press Win+I for system settings.
Step 2 – Navigate to Personalization options.
Step 3 – Select the Task Bar tab from the available ones.
Step 4 – Navigate to Select Which Icon Appears on the Taskbar.
Step 5 – From the opened options, toggle off the icon for location services off.
In case you are fine with applications using your location but do not want to be bothered again and again by Your Location is Currently in Use prompt, you can disable the icon from the taskbar. Use the steps shown above, and you will get the job done.
With all these methods, you can manage your location services and, in turn, handle the Your Location is Currently in Use prompt. The prompt is helpful if you can use it to your advantage. However, if it keeps bothering you, there are provisions to handle it as shared. We hope all these methods work fine for you. We highly recommend keeping the prompt ON, as it shows that your location is in use. Also, make sure you keep your PC safe from spyware and malware.
That is all for this one, catch you later. Good luck!
