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In the latest Windows update, I have the News & Interests widget on my taskbar that shows me accurate weather info for my current location.

I have Location turned off in my Windows settings, and no apps have permission to access Windows location information. I even checked my location history on my Windows privacy dashboard, and it says there's no location data for me. I also do not have a "default location" set under Windows location settings.

Does anyone know how News & Interests is still accessing my location, and if it's possible to prevent it from doing so?

ETL
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1 Answers1

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From your IP address, it's possible to find out your approximate location with an error measured in kilometers, by identifying the concentrator node of the ISP that handles your address.

With WiFi this is even worse, because by triangulating from known wireless networks around you (if enough exist), your location can be found with a precision of few meters.

There is no simple way to avoid that method.

The only way to confuse such applications is to use a VPN server that will make it look as if you are located elsewhere in the world. However, this will cause such applications to act strangely and make weird decisions about your defaults.

harrymc
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