BILLIONS of Android users have been warned to check their WiFi settings NOW.
Just turning off your WiFi doesn’t mean it can be completely turned off and running in the background.
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Users need to go to Location in their phone settings and select Location Services, scroll down to find WiFi scanning.
Anyone who wants another level of privacy may want to turn it off.
Techie TikTok star @tatechtips posted the tip in his latest video.
In the short clip, he said, “Turn off your WiFi doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve turned off your WiFi.
“So if you head into your phone settings and go to ‘Location’, then select ‘Location services’ and here you can see ‘WiFi scan’.
“It says ‘Let apps use WiFi for location detection even when WiFi is off.
“So that means when you’ve turned off your WiFi but you have your scan on your phone, it’s still constantly sending probe requests for WiFi.
“So if you want an extra level of privacy, turn off your WiFi scanning as well.”
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The video has already garnered over 51,700 likes and attracted over 600 comments.
Many commenters wrote to thank the expert for his advice.
One of them simply said, “Thank you. The more privacy the better. Turn it off immediately.
Another added: “Thanks, I always wanted to turn it off but never knew how and was too lazy to google it.”
A third wrote: ‘I just turned it off. Thank you sir. I have a Motorola, it works.
Earlier this month, the TikTok star revealed how enabling disappearing messages in WhatsApp could be a lifesaver in the future.
WHATSAPP FUNCTIONALITY
The feature automatically “cancels” texts – to avoid a massive log of all your messages remaining in the ether.
Open your app on mobile, then go to Settings > Account > Privacy.
Look for messages that disappear, then set the toggle to the On position.
Then choose a time period for the messages to disappear – 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days.
A message will appear in the chat confirming that message disappearing has been enabled.
GOOGLE CHROME
In June, Google Chrome users were told to protect their personal data by going through its “Privacy Guide”.
It allows you to increase the security of your account without having to go through browser settings.
Users are guided through Chrome’s controls for cookies and browsing history.
Changing these controls limits the data that Google and the websites you visit store about you.
The Privacy Guide also lets you modify Google’s Safe Browsing Tool, which warns you if you’re about to access a questionable website.
To try Privacy Guard for yourself, go to your Chrome settings by clicking on the three dots in the upper right corner of your browser.
Go to Privacy and Security so what Privacy Guard.
If you don’t have time to go through the whole guide at once, Google saves your progress as you go.
Chrome also offers a handy “password check” service that lets you know if any of your online credentials have been compromised.
To try it, open Chrome and click on the three dots in the upper right corner of the browser to access the settings.
Then click on the key symbol to access the password options.
Here you should see a section called “Saved Passwords” and it will contain all the websites you have saved your login details for.
Then click “Check Passwords” and Chrome will analyze your information and let you know if any has been compromised.
It will also tell you if any of your passwords are weak.
If so, you can click a link to strengthen passwords.
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