If you want to improve the privacy and control over your smartphone experience, adjusting a few settings in Google Maps can help. Google Maps, a widely used navigation app, collects data about your movements by default, including the places you visit and how long you stay. This information is stored in a feature called "Maps History." To disable this, open Google Maps, tap your profile photo in the top right, choose "Your Trips," then click the three dots at the top of the screen. From there, go to "Location and Privacy Settings" and turn off "Maps History." This change affects all Google apps that use location data. Alternatively, users can set a time limit for how long their activity data is kept by going to "Activity on the Web and Apps" and choosing a period, like three months, after which the data is automatically deleted. Another option is to use incognito mode in Google Maps, which prevents the app from recording your trips and searches. This mode also stops the app from personalizing suggestions based on your activity. To enable incognito mode, tap your profile photo in the top right corner and select "Enable Incognito Navigation Mode." When this mode is active, your location history isn’t saved. To turn it off, look for the incognito icon next to the search bar and choose "Disable Incognito Navigation Mode." Additionally, users can manage how offline maps are updated on their devices. Offline maps are useful when there is no internet connection, but they can automatically update, which may use battery power and data. By default, Google Maps allows updates over Wi-Fi and 4G/5G networks. To stop automatic updates, open the app, tap your profile photo, go to "Offline Maps," click the gear icon, and disable "Automatically Update Offline Maps" and "Automatically Download Recommended Maps." Users can also choose to download maps only when connected to Wi-Fi by adjusting the settings in the "Download Preferences" section. These steps give users more control over how their devices use location data and manage map updates.