How to change and disable location services in Windows 8

Windows 8 has a built-in location feature that informs the apps, web, and networks about your regional location. In Windows 8, you can easily change your regional and network location settings as well as disable location services from the Control Panel. Here is how to change location settings and disable location services in Windows 8.

How to change regional location settings in Windows 8

If you have shifted to a new region recently or have never set your region in your PC, then use the steps to change or set your region.

1.    Click the ‘File Explorer’ icon in the taskbar.

2.    Click ‘Desktop’ in the left-hand sidebar of the File Explorer window.

3.    Click twice on the ‘Control Panel’ to open it.

4.    Find the ‘Clock, Language, and Region’ settings in the control panel window, and double click on it.

5.    Click on ‘Change location’ settings under Region.

6.    In the Region window, switch to the location tab.

7.    Click the ‘Home Location:’ drop-down box.

8.    From the dropdown option, select your region.

9.    If your country isn’t appearing, scroll down to view more countries.

10.    Click ‘OK’ to save your country.

That’s it! Your regional location has been changed successfully.

How to change network location settings in Windows 8

If you want to change your network location settings, then make sure your Wi-Fi network, and you’re logged into it.

To log in into a Wi-Fi network, follow the steps:

1.    Click the ‘Wi-Fi’ symbol on the right side of the taskbar.

2.    Click on your ‘Wi-Fi’ network to connect.

3.    Click the ‘Connect’ button.

4.    Enter the Wi-Fi password, if required.

You’re successfully logged in into the Wi-Fi network. Now, follow the below steps to settings.

Steps to change network location settings:

1.    Click the ‘Wi-Fi’ symbol on the right side of the taskbar.

2.    In the network menu, right click on the network you want to change settings.

3.    Select ‘Turn sharing on or off’ from the options. Network sharing is for private networks, and no unwanted user can steal your data with the network share.

4.    Review your settings and customize, as you want.

5.    Click ‘Save changes,’ to save the changes you’d done.

That’s it! Network location settings have been changed successfully.

How to disable location service in Windows

Disabling the location services will affect the features like news, app data, and website data gathering, etc.

1.    Click the ‘File Explorer’ icon in the taskbar.

2.    Click ‘Desktop’ in the left-hand sidebar of the File Explorer window.

3.    Click twice on the ‘Control Panel’ to open it.

4.    Click ‘Location Settings’.

5.    Click and uncheck the box of ‘Turn on the Windows Location platform.’

6.    Click on ‘Apply’ button to confirm the changes.

That’s it! Location services are disabled on your computer. If later you want to enable the service again, use the same procedure and recheck the box.

Edward Lewis  is a self-professed security expert; she has been making the people aware of the security threats. Her passion is to write about Cybersecurity, cryptography, malware, social engineering, internet and new media. She  writes for Norton security products at norton.com/setup.

Source : Windows 8