Rita El Khoury/Android Authority
TL;DR
- Chrome on Android now lets you share your approximate location instead of your exact location.
- You no longer have to give exact coordinates to check basic things like weather or news.
- This update is only for Android right now, but desktop Chrome support is available.
It may seem invasive to tell your exact location to every website that asks. Allowing access to your location often means sharing your exact location, even for something as simple as checking the weather. Google is now rolling out a useful privacy update.
On Chrome for Android, you can now choose to share only your approximate location with websites, Chrome product manager Archit Agarwal wrote in a blog post. He described it as a simple way to give you more control over your location data.
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Aggarwal said precise tracking is useful for tasks like ordering food or finding the nearest ATM, but it’s unnecessary for casual browsing. If you just want to check the news or weather, sharing the approximate area may be enough.
Google tested the feature last November before today’s rollout. You get the same web experience without having to provide your street address. If a website really needs your exact location, you can still share it, so you don’t miss important features.
At the moment, this privacy update is only available on Chrome for Android. That said, Google plans to bring this feature to Chrome on desktop soon.
This change also affects web developers. Google plans to release new APIs that will allow developers to request an approximate location or specify if they really need an exact location. The company is encouraging developers to review their location requests and ask for precise coordinates only when necessary for the site’s features.
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