To disable location tracking in Windows 10 and 11, open Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Terminal as Administrator, paste the registry commands from this guide, press Enter, and restart your PC. This adds the necessary registry keys to block location access system-wide.
Quick Steps:
- Right-click the Start button and select “Terminal (Admin)”, “PowerShell (Admin)”, or “Command Prompt (Admin)”
- Copy and paste the registry commands from the Step 2 section below into the Terminal window
- If prompted, click “Paste Anyway”
- Press Enter to run the commands
- Confirm all commands completed successfully
- Close the Terminal window and restart your PC
Why Should You Turn Off Location Tracking in Windows?
Windows 10 and 11 both enable location tracking by default. Microsoft and installed apps use this to provide location-based services, but it also means your PC is quietly sharing where you are without most people ever realizing it. If you’ve never changed this setting, it’s almost certainly still on.
In all my years setting up computers for clients at the repair shop, location tracking was one of those settings that almost nobody knew was enabled. People would click through the Windows setup screens without reading what they were agreeing to, and by the end of it, their PC was sending location data to Microsoft and any app that asked for it.
Location tracking is just one piece of a bigger picture. Windows also sends diagnostic data and other usage information back to Microsoft in the background. If you want to cut down on what Windows sends out, disabling Windows telemetry is another setting worth taking care of alongside this one.
How to Disable Location Tracking Using the Terminal
Step 1: Open Terminal as Administrator
Right-click the Start button and select “Terminal (Admin)” on Windows 11, or “Command Prompt (Admin)” on Windows 10. You need administrator rights because writing to the registry at the machine level requires elevated privileges. Without admin rights, the commands will fail with an access denied error.
Step 2: Paste and Run the Registry Commands
Copy all of the commands below and paste them into the Terminal window. If Windows asks you to confirm the paste, click “Paste Anyway.” Then press Enter to run them.
reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CapabilityAccessManager\ConsentStore\location" /v "Value" /t REG_SZ /d "Deny" /f
reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CapabilityAccessManager\ConsentStore\location" /v "Value" /t REG_SZ /d "Deny" /f
reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\LocationAndSensors" /v "DisableLocation" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /fYou should see “The operation completed successfully” for each command. If any of them fail, double-check that you opened the Terminal with administrator rights.
Step 3: Restart Your PC
Once all the commands have run without errors, close the Terminal window and restart your computer. The registry changes need a reboot to fully take effect. After restarting, Windows will no longer have access to your location.
What Do These Registry Keys Actually Do?
The first two commands set the Value to Deny in the ConsentStore location keys — one for the local machine and one for the current user account. This is exactly what Windows does internally when you turn off location access through the Settings app, just done directly through the registry instead.
The third command adds a DisableLocation policy key under the Windows LocationAndSensors policies. This is a stronger enforcement — it prevents location services from being re-enabled through the Settings app, which is useful if you want to make sure the change actually sticks, especially after Windows updates.
Location tracking is one of a few privacy settings I always recommend dealing with. Another one that flies under the radar is the Windows Advertising ID, which Microsoft uses to track your app activity and serve personalized ads. Disabling it follows a similar process and makes a real difference if you care about what data Windows is collecting on you.
Want an Easier Way? Use Winhance
If you’d rather not deal with registry commands, I built a free tool called Winhance that lets you manage privacy settings like location tracking through a clean, simple interface. Instead of pasting commands into a Terminal, you just toggle the setting with a click and Winhance handles the registry changes behind the scenes.
I originally created it because I was tired of doing the same manual tweaks on every single computer I set up at the shop. Now it does all of that in one go — location, telemetry, the Advertising ID, and a lot more. It’s completely free and open source.
Common Issues & Solutions
Problem: “Access is denied” error when running the commands
Solution: You need to run Terminal, PowerShell, or Command Prompt as Administrator. Right-click the Start button and make sure you’re selecting the option with “(Admin)” at the end.
Problem: Commands ran but location still appears enabled in Settings
Solution: Restart your PC. The registry changes don’t apply until after a reboot. Once you’ve restarted, check Settings > Privacy & Security > Location to confirm it’s been turned off.
Problem: A Windows update re-enabled location tracking
Solution: The third command (the policy key) is designed to help prevent this, but major Windows feature updates can still reset certain privacy settings. After any large update, it’s worth checking your location settings to make sure they’re still where you left them.
FAQ
Does disabling location tracking affect all apps on my PC?
Yes. These registry changes block location access at the system level, so apps like Maps, Weather, or any other app that requests your location won’t be able to access it. You can still manually type in a location inside those apps if you need location-based features.
Will this stop websites from knowing where I am?
Not completely. This blocks Windows from sharing your GPS or Wi-Fi-based location with apps and services, but websites can still estimate your general location using your IP address. To get around that, you’d need to use a VPN.
Can I undo this and turn location back on?
Yes. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location and toggle it back on. To fully undo the policy key, open Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\LocationAndSensors, and delete the DisableLocation value. Without removing that key, the Settings toggle may remain greyed out.
Is it safe to run these registry commands?
Yes. These are well-known registry paths that Windows itself uses to manage location permissions. The commands only modify location-related keys and don’t touch anything else. If you want to be cautious, you can back up your registry first by opening Registry Editor and going to File > Export before running anything.
Do these commands work on both Windows 10 and Windows 11?
Yes. Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 use the same registry paths for location tracking. The commands above work on both versions without any changes needed.
