Paul Jones / Android Authority
TL;DR One UI 8 may add an option to hide the location icon in the status bar when only system apps are accessing it.
The icon would still appear when third-party apps access your location, alerting you to unexpected behavior.
The change addresses complaints from Galaxy owners about the icon being almost constantly on since One UI 7.
For months, Galaxy owners have complained about the location icon constantly lighting up in the status bar, often triggered by Samsung’s services rather than third-party apps. Threads on Reddit are full of people calling it distracting or confusing. Now it looks like Samsung might be finally doing something about it.
According to strings we saw in an internal One UI 8 beta for the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Samsung may add a new toggle that changes how the location icon behaves, potentially letting you hide it. Our thanks go to thatjoshguy69 for providing the APK file.
Include this box somewhere in the body text:
Don’t want to miss the best from Android Authority? Set us as a preferred source in Google Search to support us and make sure you never miss our latest exclusive reports, expert analysis, and much more.
Based on the wording of the strings, the location icon may be off by default when Samsung services are accessing your location, but it could be enabled manually in the location settings. That would let you decide whether system apps should trigger the icon or not.
Code Copy Text
... continue reading