Do you want to track someone through their smartphone to make sure they are safe? Or track your stolen phone? It is possible. Security services and police can do this very easily using the mobile phone network. However, service providers do not allow ordinary citizens to track someone else. However, there are applications that allow someone to do this.
On iOS devices, there is a feature called “Find My Phone”. For Android phones, the corresponding app is “Find Your Phone”. These apps allow the user to find a lost smartphone. The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number can be used to track another smartphone. PhoneSpector is an Android/iOS app that automatically and remotely collects information from any mobile phone and sends it to your account on its website using the IMEI.
When connecting from any Internet-enabled device, you can receive texts, calls, location, and much more personal information.
Family Locator is a GPS-based Android app that allows a person to stay connected with their loved ones. However, the secret is that a private group needs to be created and the people who are interested in that person need to be in that group. This app shows the real-time location of all the members in the group. It can also help you locate lost phones. Plus, it’s a free app.
Spyzie is a paid app (for Android/iOS) that can track location and spy on other devices. Social media accounts can also be monitored with this app, provided it is installed on the other phone as well.
While some apps are free, you will need to pay for some others.
You might expect that a phone can only be tracked if GPS, location services, or Wi-Fi are turned on. A study at Princeton University last year claimed that phones can be tracked even from a distance.
The research showed that a device can be tracked using data that includes its time zone and information about its sensors. This data, combined with information from maps and the device's location, can be used to estimate a device's location even if location services are turned off. The collection of data from a target phone is virtually undetectable, the research also said.
Android is an open source software and anyone with a little coding and programming knowledge can easily track a phone.
With the amount of information collected by many companies, it becomes almost impossible not to track a device. There are hundreds of applications and methods that can be used to track other devices very easily.
