"Location tracking" gets discussed as a single concept, but it's actually several distinct technologies with very different precision levels and permission requirements — worth distinguishing clearly rather than treating them as interchangeable.
IP-based location
The least precise of the group — generally reliable at the country level, meaningfully less so for city or coordinates (see How IP Geolocation Works). Requires no permission from the user; it's inherent to how internet routing works.
GPS
The most precise, capable of pinpoint accuracy under good conditions — but explicitly requires app or browser permission on modern platforms, and only works on devices with GPS hardware (primarily mobile devices).
Wi-Fi-based positioning
Uses nearby Wi-Fi network signatures cross-referenced against large databases of known network locations, offering precision between IP-based and GPS methods — commonly used indoors or where GPS signal is weak, and generally also requires explicit permission.
Account history
Some services infer a "home" or frequent location from patterns in your account activity over time — billing addresses, past order history, or repeated login locations — a different mechanism entirely, not a real-time technical measurement but an inference from stored data.
Why the distinctions matter practically
A VPN changes what IP-based location reveals but has no effect on GPS, Wi-Fi positioning, or account-history inference — if you've granted a specific app location permission, that permission operates independently of your network-level privacy measures. Understanding which mechanism a specific concern relates to determines which protection actually applies.
FAQ
Does disabling location services fully stop location tracking?
It stops GPS and Wi-Fi-positioning-based tracking for apps that respect the setting — IP-based location inference and account-history-based inference are unaffected by this specific setting.