In Google Maps for Android, press the menu icon. Settings. Notifications. Your Contributions.

You can switch off all the nags in there.

You might want to check out Eraser, made by Mapzen. Eraser is a Google Maps like app that uses OpenStreetMap data and is backed solely open source software and open data. It's a little rough around the edges (especially when it comes to transit routing).

https://github.com/mapzen/eraser-map

https://mapzen.com/blog/erasermap-beta/

Yes please! I understand you can disable the notifications in Maps settings, but that likely doesn't disable the constant location tracking.

Does anyone know how to disable this?

Created an account to share this, as it seems not many people know... You can use an AOSP such as lineage, or carbon. There are quite a few options. Then, use fdroid and a play store alternative. You DO NOT need the google play services, such as microgapps, or opengapps. Even to use Google Maps! I use google maps by downloading maps anonymously with the Yalp store, and then I don't sign in. I don't have the so called high accuracy location, but I still have GPS, which, obviously, is sufficient. I can navigate easily in a large city, for example.

As far as I know google can't link me to any data that maps sends.

Spotify works fine, along with a half dozen other apps.

Signal can a bit of a pain, as it complains about not having a google api backend, which I think is for contacts. Again, the pain is worth it. And there are open source contact alternatives.

I can't get apps that I paid for, for that I would have to sign in with Yalp, which I haven't bothered with. The freedom is so much better.

Everything else works, banking apps, Firefox, Dropbox, etc.

I'm using a Sony Xperia Z2. The battery is AMAZING! I really wish a largish company would pick this idea up, and start selling phones without google. Sony? The freedom and privacy is worth a lot in my opinion.

Well, Fdroid is great and with the automatic upgrade extension (totally optional) really easy to use. But using an Android without access to the Play Store is just kinda weird.

So yes, you can remove Google completely from your smartphone, but then many things are getting much more complicated. So I don't want to remove Google completely from my phone. I just want to have easy options to turn things off I do not like.

I just wish Google would respect their users wishes a little more and would keep developing their services in a direction which would embrace community contributions to the eco system.

> So yes, you can remove Google completely from your smartphone, but then many things are getting much more complicated. > I just wish Google would respect their users wishes a little more [...] I just want to have easy options to turn things off I do not like.

This is not how things work in reality. People/corporations don't do what you want just because you're wishing it. If you are unwilling to tolerate a little bit of discomfort why should they tolerate the risk of changing their practices which have been proven to work? By continuing to buy Android devices, despite your complaints, you are, in fact, providing them with the opposite incentive.

It's called "Location history" and you can manage it in Settings -> Google on most decently modern Android devices.

Disable GPS, bluetooth and wifi scanning. Guaranteed to work.