If you need to keep a tab on someone, learn how to track a phone without them knowing. Whether you need to check up on a suspicious spouse, ensure your child’s safety, monitor employees’ use of company devices, or simply find your phone, discreet phone tracking can give you essential insights.
With nearly half of parents and teens already using digital location tracking, the time is now to learn how you can protect yourself and your loved ones. Below, I’ll discuss the best tools available today to gain the info you need without alerting the person being tracked.
The Best Ways to Track a Phone Location at a Glance
These are the best tracking apps we recommend for anyone wanting to track someone’s location.
Why Do You Need to Track Someone’s Phone Location?
Tracking someone’s phone location without them knowing can be essential for various reasons, giving you peace of mind and crucial information. Here are some motives I’ve encountered during my research on this topic:
- Parental Control – As someone who uses phone tracking apps for parental control, I can attest to their importance and positive impact on the parents’ well-being. Knowing my kids’ whereabouts, especially when they’re out with friends or on their way to school, gives me peace of mind. Real-time location tracking and geofencing ensure parents can quickly intervene if their kids are in an unexpected place, keeping them safe and sound. It’s a practical tool for balancing a child’s growing independence and parental need to ensure their safety.
- Tracking a Stolen Phone – How to find a phone location? If your phone gets stolen, the built-in tracking feature can save you a lot of trouble. You can pinpoint its exact location without alerting the thief and work with authorities to retrieve it. This feature not only helps in recovering the device but also prevents potential misuse of personal data. Considering how important phones are in our lives today, it’s reassuring to know that if your phone goes missing, you have a solid chance to find that phone’s location and get it back.
- Tracking Employees on Company Devices – Phone tracking is invaluable when managing a team of remote employees. It allows you to ensure that company devices are being used appropriately and all your team members are where they need to be during work hours. This level of oversight helps improve accountability and efficiency, ensuring company resources are used responsibly. It’s an effective way to maintain productivity and trust within a remote workforce.
- Tracking a Cheating Partner – Finding out your partner is cheating is never easy. I once used a discreet tracking app to confirm my suspicions about a partner who was being dishonest about their whereabouts. The insights I gained were crucial in making informed decisions about the relationship. It’s a sensitive situation, but having concrete information can be a lifeline. Some of the best cheating spouse tracking apps can even deliver content similar to what digital forensics use in divorce cases. Of course, it’s important to handle this ethically and be aware of the legal implications, but for those deeply concerned, tracking can provide the needed clarity.
How To Track A Phone Without Them Knowing - Step By Step
Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to track someone's phone using mSpy, one of the best around.
Create Your mSpy Account
First, head over to mSpy’s official website and create an account. Enter your email, pick your operating system (I’m using Android for this guide), choose a plan, and subscribe. You’ll get an email with your login info, Control Panel link, and Installation URL. Keep this email handy.Disable Play Protect on Your Phone
Open the Google Play Store on the target phone. Tap the account icon on the top right, select Play Protect, and choose Settings. Disable “Improved Harmful App Detection” by sliding it to grey. Confirm your choice.
Install mSpy on the Device
Now, with the target phone in hand, open the browser and enter the Installation URL from the mSpy email. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
Access mSpy Dashboard & Start Tracking
Use your device to open the Control Panel URL from the email and log into your mSpy account. You’ll now have access to mSpy’s dashboard, where you can monitor the phone.
Other Ways to Track Someone’s Location
How to track someone’s phone without them knowing for free? There are several ways to track someone’s location discreetly and safely, but none are completely free. Let’s see how to track an Android phone or iPhone using these methods.
Using Spy Apps
The Best spy apps like mSpy, uMobix, Eyezy, or Spynger are reliable, safe, and packed with robust location-tracking capabilities. These apps can track phones and monitor GPS locations, call logs, messages, social media, and more. Most of them do it in stealth mode, ensuring the tracked person is none the wiser.
My top choice, mSpy, shines with its geo-fenced tracking, unmatched effectiveness, and intuitive interface. It’s the ideal solution for vigilant parents, worried partners, and employers needing to monitor a phone discreetly.
Using Find My Device
Built-in tracking features have proven to be a lifesaver for countless users. I also used Google’s Find My Device for Android when I lost my phone during a hectic travel day. I logged in from a friend’s phone, and voilà – I could see my phone’s location on the map. iOS users can use Find My iPhone to locate their misplaced or stolen iPhones.
This feature allows you to play a sound on your phone to help locate it if it’s nearby, and if you’re worried about sensitive information, you can remotely erase all data to keep it safe.
Using WhatsApp
WhatsApp’s live location feature is handy for keeping track of friends or family during big events or trips. Whenever arranging a meetup in a crowded area, your group can use this feature to share real-time locations. Simply open a chat, tap the attachment icon, select Location, and choose Share Live Location. It updates in real-time, so you can see where everyone is.
Unfortunately, WhatsApp’s minimum age limit for using its services in Europe is 16, curbing its role in parental control, so you might have to rely on one of the best WhatsApp spy apps instead.
Using social media check-ins is more suitable for young adults and teens as they are online almost constantly. Engaging on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, they frequently share their activities and locations with friends, often tagging themselves at places they visit. This habit makes it easier to keep track of their whereabouts.
Additionally, young people tend to be more comfortable with sharing their location and other personal details online than older generations. Hence, this method is effective because it fits seamlessly into their social media usage patterns, making it a natural way to monitor their location.
Using Google Earth
It is possible to track a cell phone location for free via Google Earth, but it requires some setup and the cooperation of the targeted person, as they must grant permission to share their location. You’ll need the person’s Google login credentials and phone number too.
How does it work? Visit earth.google.com, log in with the target’s Google account, and enter their phone number. They will receive a message with a link they must click to grant permission for Google to access their location. You can then track them on Google Earth.
Using a GPS Tracker
Physical GPS trackers, like those from Garmin, TrackingFox, or Tile, are perfect for attaching to vehicles, bags, or even pets, but not for mobile phone tracking. These devices provide real-time location updates, permitting you to track assets or keep an eye on your kids without relying on a smartphone. In my experience, physical tracking devices are mostly used for monitoring vehicles, including teens and company cars.
It’s crucial to tackle the legality of GPS tracking devices which varies by jurisdiction. To be safe, always inform the person about the tracking and obtain their consent. Discuss the use of these devices with teens to ensure transparency and trust.
The Best Apps for Tracking Someone’s Location Compared
Want to keep tabs on someone’s whereabouts? Check out our ultimate table, showcasing the best tracking apps and their top-notch features!
Dive in and discover which one suits your needs.
Provider | Starting Price | No. Of Devices | Best For | Free Trial/Demo | Money-back Guarantee | Compatibility |
mSpy | $11.67/month | 1 | Overall Location Tracking & Robust Feature Set | ✅ | 14 days | Android, iOS |
Spynger | $9.28/month | 1 | Tracking Cheating Partners | ❌ | 30 days | Android, iOS |
uMobix | $12.49/month$ | 1 | Tracking With Strong Keylogger | ✅ | 14 days | Android, iOS |
Scannero | $0.89/month | Unlimited | Location Tracking With No App Install | ❌ | ❌ | Android, iOS |
Spybubble Pro | $12.49/month | 1 | Location Tracking & Recovering Deleted Content | ❌ | 14 days | Android, iOS |
KidsGuard by ClevGuard | $5.83/month | 1 | Parents Who Want To Track Their Kids’ Phone | ✅ | 30 days | Android, iOS, Windows, Mac |
Eyezy | $7.99/month | 1 | Location Tracking Plus Real-Time Keyword Alerts | ✅ | 14 days | Android, iOS |
Phonsee | 8.85/month | 1 | Budget-Conscious Users | ✅ | 14 days | Android, iOS |
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Monitoring Software Reviewed6
Key Criteria450+
Research Hours3
In-house ExpertsConclusion
Tracking a phone location discreetly can be achieved through various methods like using built-in features on your phone, social media check-ins, and physical GPS trackers. However, spy apps stand out for their comprehensive and stealthy capabilities.
Spy apps, like mSpy, offer real-time GPS tracking, call and message monitoring, and even social media activity tracking – all while remaining undetected. In my experience, mSpy’s user-friendly interface and powerful features make it the ultimate cell phone tracker. Its geo-fencing alerts you when the phone enters or leaves specific areas, making it a handy tool for parents, partners, and employers alike.
FAQs
How to track a phone location for free?
Can I track a phone with just a number?
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References
- Digital Location Tracking: A Preliminary Investigation of Parents’ Use of Digital Technology to Monitor Their Adolescent’s Location – APA PsycArticles
- How Using Parental Control Software Can Enhance Parents’ Well-Being: The Role of Product Features on Parental Efficacy and Stress – Sage Journals
- Privacy Paradox and Location Sharing: Why Do Young People Invite Others to Monitor Their Movement and Activities? – SSRN
- The Legality Of GPS Tracking Devices – Intensity Law