In order to provide mobile communications, the Vodafone network needs to know approximately where you are so that it can deliver calls and messages to you.

This information will be shared with the emergency services in the event that you make an emergency call. This is done to ensure that the requested emergency service has the best chance of getting to you in the shortest possible time.

The same location information may also provide useful services – for example if you are travelling you might wish to receive traffic updates so that you can avoid traffic congestion. If you are lost, you might wish to locate your nearest taxi rank so that you can get home. These types of services are called active location based services because you are specifically asking that you be located in order for the service to be provided.

There are other forms of location based services where you might agree to be located by someone else or you might want to locate someone else using the location information generated by the Vodafone network. These services are called passive location based services. These can be very useful – for example if you have agreed to meet up with friends in town and cannot find them, you might wish to use such a service to locate them.

Because we understand that you would be concerned if people could locate you without your knowledge, Vodafone takes robust measures to ensure that all location based service providers that use Vodafone network location data as part of their services comply with the Industry Code of Practice For the Use of Mobile Phone Technology to Provide Passive Services in the UK. One of the key requirements of this Code is that the person who is to be located must consent to being located and regular reminders about the location service must be sent to their mobile phone so that they can opt out any time.

You can use the following codes to manage the use of your location data:

• To turn off location, simply key *#120# on your handset keypad, and then press send or call.
• To turn on location, simply key ##120# on your handset keypad, and then press send or call.

Your location will still be known to the Vodafone network (as this is needed to make the service work) and will still be passed to the emergency services during an emergency call but no other use of your location can be made.