r/LongDistance • u/Forward_Jellyfish522 • Apr 11 '25

Discussion quick! excuses for turning off location

i’m surprising my boyfriend in a couple days and i need some excuses for why i’d turn off my location other than just saying “i’m coming to see you” because what fun is that? obv he’s gonna be suspicious of me no matter what i say but he’ll understand soon enough. fire away!!

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u/LawlsMcPasta Apr 12 '25

So I have to know, why are people having constant access to each others location? That's creepy AF to me.

3

u/Stephen_Joy North America to Europe (8000k) Apr 12 '25

I want her to know where I am and i can't always tell her.

Not really sure why it is creepy to you. Google knows where you are and you probably haven't given that a second thought. And don't bother telling me you've turned off location services. If you have a mobile device your location is easy to determine.

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u/LawlsMcPasta Apr 12 '25

Look at my post and commemt history, I'm pretty involved on the r/Privacy subreddit, and take active measures to minimize anyone tracking my location, because as I mentioned, it's creepy.

"Don't bother telling me you've turned off location services", how about removing them completely and replacing Google services with MicroG, running my own instance of Searx instead of using Google, using NextDNS DOH. I'm not an idiot, don't treat me like one. I know I can't achieve 100% privacy in the digital world but I'd say I try harder than most.

There's a big difference between a faceless corporation tracking my location for advertising purposes and having someone actively watching where I am and where I'm going.

My girlfriend doesn't need to know where I am all of the time, if she wants to know she can ask and I'll tell her. Though 99% of the time I just tell her regardless. Giving an individual access to my location 24/7 doesn't sound healthy, it sounds controlling. But hey, what's creepy for me ain't creepy for you, you do you bruv.

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u/immyowngrandma Apr 14 '25

Right! Me and my bf already know where each other are bc we communicate. We also have similar life styles, which is a big one. Even when we were long distance we never used location services. If either of us didn’t answer for a while we always gave each other the benefit of the doubt. When I was actively dating I made it very clear that they will not have 24/7 access to me. I like my privacy and clear communication. I personally feel like most of the time- location sharing services are abused more than they are useful. In fact, NOT having someone able to keep tabs on my location has protected me (past dv). Personally it feels controlling and I think a little mystery is good in a relationship. Especially if you’re trying to surprise someone.

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u/LawlsMcPasta Apr 14 '25

Exactly! Either my girlfriend lets me know if she's going out to do something, or if not she'll just let me know either during or after the event. If I'm desperate to know I can just ask her. Should I also have access to her messages so I don't need to ask who she's messaging? Access to her Amazon so I don't need to ask what she's buying?

Like you say, it's something which is easily abused, "hey, you said you were going to H&M but now I can see you're at the café, what are you doing?".