Geolocation will help
Most people today know what geolocation . This is determining the exact location of an object using various technologies, such as satellite networks (GPS or GLONASS), as well as LBS (Location Based Service) - determining the location of a mobile phone using base station signals , using the reverse geodetic survey method. In the case of determining a person’s location by number, this option is usually used.
Geolocation can help you find a person by mobile phone number
The main advantage of this method of geolocation is the lack of connection to satellite systems , but there is also a drawback: it is not possible to accurately determine the location of the desired device.
This depends on the type of network, and a certain coordinate point may be erroneous, and the error here is not 200 meters, but several kilometers. Although, you might get lucky.
Method #1 from Google. Google Maps (for Android and iOS)
Not long ago, Google added the “Show where I am” function to the Google Maps application, which allows you to track a person’s location and works on both Android and iOS.
To do this, you and the person whose location you want to track must have the Google Maps application installed. You need to find out the mail connected to the Android device with which he is traveling.
Next, go to the “victim” Google Maps application, go to the menu and select “Show where I am”, indicate the period for tracking the person and indicate your e-mail or phone number
You can now track your phone using GPS in real time on your mobile device by opening Google Maps, "Show where I am" section.
you won't find it this way
Of course, the more base stations there are, the more accurately the system can determine where the owner of the number you are looking for is located, but, for example, you will not find a grandfather who has gone mushroom picking: if there are 2-3 stations , and he himself occupies an area a hundred kilometers, certain coordinates will be very, very inaccurate.
the telecom operator himself can determine the location of the phone by number as accurately as possible , but he will only do this upon request from the police or other competent authorities, and we all know how these same authorities work in our country. In the time it takes for them to move the pieces of paper from one pile to another, the phone will run out of charge and the attacker will disappear .
However, mobile service providers offer special services to find out the location of a person without violating the law, that is, with the consent of the owner of the number.
Latitude service on Apple
“Locator” for Apple gadgets is a multifunctional service that combines the functionality of the “Find iPhone”, “Find Friends” services, as well as some of the “Family Sharing” options. This program shows the location of friends and family, allows you to share your own geodata, and displays all your devices added to the system on a map.
Locator works in iOS 13 and 14, iPadOS, macOS Catalina and Big Sur. It is not available for older OS versions.
How to get started
The first step is to enable location services on your device:
- Open Settings on your phone. Scroll down and go to the Privacy section.
- Click on the Location Services tab and drag the switch to the active position.
Your device will now appear on the map. This will allow you and your friends to track it at any time.
How to submit a surveillance request
To start tracking another iPhone owner, follow these steps:
- Open the Find My app.
- Switch to the People tab.
- Click “Start sharing location.”
- Select a person from your contacts list or use the “+” button to add a person not from your phone book.
- Click on the “Send” button and select a time from the drop-down menu: 1 hour, until the end of the day or indefinitely.
A notification will be sent to your friend. If he confirms the request, he will be able to view your geolocation, and you, in turn, can start tracking his location. Another option on how to start following a person via iPhone is to ask him to send his geolocation according to the instructions described above. After you and the person exchange your geodata, he will appear in the “People” list and on the map in the “Locator” service. Using the application, you can:
- See the distance from your friend to you;
- Contact him in various ways;
- Build a route from your location to the point where the person is currently located;
- Set up a notification when a friend arrives or leaves a certain location.
The last option is especially useful for parents. It allows you to track whether your child is late for class, attends extracurricular activities, is late at school, and so on.
How to add iPhone to Find My
To enable the search feature on a specific device, follow these steps:
- Open the settings of your smartphone or tablet.
- Click on your name or Apple ID.
- Go to the “Locator” section and open the “Find iPhone” or “Find iPad” tab.
- Activate the switch.
Now your device will be displayed on the map in “Locator”. You can always see its location from other Apple gadgets on which this application is installed. All connected iPhones and iPads will be displayed in the “Devices” tab.
Additional options
Next to the “Find iPhone/iPad” function, you may notice 2 additional options from Apple - these are “Last Location” and “Offline Search”.
- The “Last Location” option saves the location of your smartphone or tablet for future searches. Even if the gadget runs out of power and turns off, you will see exactly where it was last active.
- The “Offline access” option allows you to find a gadget that does not have access to the Internet or is completely turned off. This is implemented using Bluetooth LE technology: the device contacts other iPads and iPhones nearby, transmitting its location to them. To implement it, you need at least two mobile devices from Apple nearby. The data is transferred encrypted, but if the device is lost, it is decrypted and sent to your iCloud.
To protect your smartphone or tablet, you should activate both of these options. This way you can easily find the gadget, even if it is stolen and disabled by someone.
What do operators offer?
As we have already said, every mobile operator considers it a duty of honor to provide a number direction finding service . Traditionally, these services are provided for a fee , but their cost is not at all high.
Such services can be activated using USSD requests, using IVR, through a personal account on the operator’s website or in stores. This can be done legally only with the consent of the subscriber himself , but it can be done without it, if you hold his phone in your hands for a minute or two. You can find out information about a person’s location by receiving it on your mobile phone in the form of SMS or by installing a special application.
from MegaFon
Radar service from MegaFon
To activate the service, you need to send a USSD request *140# or on the website m.navigator.megafon.ru . You can find out where the phone you are looking for is located there or using a USSD request *140*7xxxxxxxxxx# (where 7xxxxxxxxxx is the phone number of the subscriber you are looking for). The cost of the service is 3 rubles. / day. You can also track subscribers of other networks.
Website
Connection from Tele2
TELE2 also provides a similar service.
The service is activated by USSD request *119*01# . To enable tracking, dial *119*1*7xxxxxxxxxx# . For information about where the phone is located, dial *119*2*7xxxxxxxxxx# . The cost is 3 rubles. / day .
Website
Connection from Beeline
Beeline also allows its subscribers to track loved ones.
To connect to this service, you should send an empty SMS to 5166 and download the Locator . The cost of the service is 7 rubles. / day . You can track up to 5 numbers.
Website
Connection from MTS
MTS also keeps up with its competitors.
The service is activated by USSD request *111*788# . To add tracked subscribers, you need to send an SMS to the short number 6677 , for example: “ADB Daughter 89157654321”. The cost of the service is 100 rubles per month . You can also track Megafon subscribers.
Website
Here you need to understand one important thing : when providing this service, mobile service providers use the same geolocation across base stations , that is, the problems will be the same. The coordinates will be given with a large error , and if in the city center, where there are many towers, it will be only 100-200 meters, then outside the city - in a forest or industrial zone, it is no longer possible . Plus, if the mobile phone is turned off for one reason or another, it will not work , and you can determine a person’s location in this way no more than once every five minutes.
iPhone
You can track your iPhone using the iCloud service provided by the manufacturers. To search, you need to download the Find iPhone app and activate geolocation on your gadget.
If your i-phone is disabled, then go to icloud.com or “Find iPhone” on another device. You will need to enter an ID and a password. After identification, you will be able to view the last recorded location of your iPhone. Through iCloud you can also:
- Send a sound signal to the device.
- Send a message asking to return the “find” to the owner, which will appear on the screen immediately after turning on the iPhone, even if you change the SIM card.
Friends, I have described enough methods for you to try to find your smartphone. I hope you find them useful. Please write down your search results in the comments - help us determine the most effective method.
Search through Google or Apple accounts
You can find out the location of a person by his phone number (or find the gadget itself if it is stolen or lost) online using special functions of Google and iCloud . One drawback: all these features only work if geolocation and remote control . However, in the case of, for example, a child whose accounts parents have access to by default, it makes sense to use these services - it is indeed very convenient.
Here's how, for example, this happens using Google services . You only need to take 4 steps :
1. go to the search engine on any browser;
2. select the menu and click on “My Account”;
Go to the search engine and select “My Account”
3. scroll down the page;
Select "Search for phone"
4. select “phone search”.
The system will request access to your Google account - enter your password . After this, the service will determine where the gadget is located. However, as always, there are certain conditions. Firstly , the phone number must be associated with the account, and secondly , GPS must be turned on on the device, otherwise, unfortunately, it will not be possible to find it.
Looking for Android by phone number
Sometimes you may need to track a specific number. This is a more specialized operation for which some applications or services of mobile operators are suitable.
Explicitly: using the Where's my droid program
QR Code
Where's My Droid
Developer: Alienman Technologies LLC
Price: Free
An excellent utility, the best of its kind. Available freely in the Google Store. The basic, initial version is completely free, but its functionality is a little condensed and limited:
- Search for a smartphone using enabled GPS;
- Notification if the user has changed their phone number;
- Search for phone by vibration;
- Alert if the monitored user has low battery.
The advanced modification contains many more useful options, but you will have to pay for it. First, we strongly recommend trying the demo version! Now let’s take a look at the features of the premium program:
- Internal camera module that allows you to take a photo remotely. This way you can, for example, recognize the face of a robber or swindler.
- Possibility of an “eternal” program. A rather specific name, meaning that a person will not be able to remove the utility from his smartphone and stop tracking him.
- Clearing all materials from the device, starting from internal memory and ending with external storage.
Secretly: operator service
This is a completely official option, which is a package with a service that must be activated for an additional fee. For example, Vodafone has a great “Looked after child” option. It works online using SMS. You only need to send the subscriber's name to the specified number.
Almost every operator has a similar function. So contact a consultant or visit the website of your mobile network - and the necessary user will always be in sight.
Applications to find a person by their phone location
We must admit that there is quite a lot of such software. We will describe only some programs, because otherwise we will simply drown. I hope this sample helps you.
Zoemob
Zoemob
The first of the applications we chose allows us to create a certain group (for example, children or couriers), whose members can see where everyone else is, as well as their history
messages and calls.
Android Link
Link for iOS
Website
Find My Friends
A completely free application, which, while being very easy to use, provides a lot of opportunities for tracking people by phone number. In addition, people included in the circle you created will not only see each other, but also have the opportunity to correspond with each other.
Android Link
Link for iOS
Life360: be with your family
Life360
This is not simple software, but an entire social cross-platform system where you can create groups of users and track their location. In addition, the application supports messenger functions , and also makes it possible to assess the battery status on
the phone you are interested in.
What is very important for parents is the ability to highlight locations , for example, school, home, work, and so on. When you enter or exit it, the program will give you a signal.
The panic button function is also very important . When a user in a difficult situation clicks on it, everyone in his circle receives a corresponding message.
Android Link
Link for iOS
Website
Sygic Family Locator
Sygic Family Locator
Just recently, one could say that there was nothing special in this program, because everything was like everyone else’s: an SOS button, GPS search for people by phone number, a messenger - however, in the summer of 2016, the development company completed not so much a technological as a marketing breakthrough: the program has learned to send relatives data on aircraft departures and landings, which, of course, is sometimes very important.
Android Link
Link for iOS
Website
GeoLocator
GeoLocator The
GeoLocator application makes a very pleasant impression, which, in addition to being able to track the movements of a child (or adult), can even turn into a baby monitor (that is, provide a feedback function) or an Internet walkie-talkie. Separately, I would like to note the excellent work of the software support team.
Android Link
Of course, there are spyware programs for spying on your phone, but you should be clear that using such software is illegal and violates human rights . However, such applications can easily be found and purchased via the Internet. They are ideally hidden, do not appear in the system processes of gadgets , secretly collect data on the subscriber’s location and thus make it possible to find a person’s location by mobile phone number.
Such applications include Talklog, Hellospy, and Phone Tracker , but these are the most popular of them; in fact, there are many more of them. As we have already said, it is impossible to find this software by viewing installed programs, but some mobile antiviruses are capable of this.
Effective methods on how to track the location of an Android phone
Now let's get down to the main thing. There are a huge number of ways, but most will require a Google account and installation of special services.
And, of course, you can’t do without GPS. Fortunately, now almost all smartphones are equipped with this sensor. Tracking via mobile network and Wi-Fi is also possible. First things first.
Method 1: via Google Maps
QR Code
Google Maps
Developer: Google LLC
Price: Free
A simple and convenient option that requires that you have the phone number of the person you want to monitor. For example, a child's mobile phone. Don't be alarmed by the unfamiliar name of the application; in fact, this is a regular Google Maps program installed on almost every user.
If you don’t have it, follow the link and download it, and then install it in the standard way.
Now open the settings tab located on the left and click on “Transfer geodata”. A window appears asking you to tell your friends your location. You can specify a specific tracking time or enable constant tracking.
Go to the “Geodata Transfer” tab
We agree to start tracking
After we’ve done this little setup, click on “More” and select which services will be able to track you. These include contacts, Bluetooth connection, and social networks. Now a message with a tracking link will be sent to the chat you selected. The user will receive it, navigate and have access to your location data. After the specified time has passed, the link will become inactive.
Selecting a tracking location
Sending a tracking link
Method 2: Through Timeline Location History
Not a bad way if you want to monitor your own movement. Again, the entire procedure is carried out using a Google account. Open the Maps application and again call up the menu located on the left side of the screen. Click "Chronology".
Go to the “Chronology” section
A new window appears telling you that the timeline is being created based on the places you visit. This is a kind of “file” that saves your routes. What does this give? First of all, the possibility of advanced search and automatic path selection. If you are satisfied with everything, click “Start”.
We agree with the creation of “Chronology”
Now a small menu appears at the bottom where your current location begins to be determined. If it is correct, click “Here Now”. All subsequent places will be saved automatically.
Determining the current location
Method 3: Through Android Remote Control
QR Code
Find My Device
Developer: Google LLC
Price: Free
Don't forget about a special application called Find My Device, which was developed and released by Google. This utility is specifically designed to find a lost device. Using it, you can delete all materials from the device, enable search by sound signal and see the phone on the map.
You can download the program without any problems from Google Play and install it in the standard way.
- We open the application and see a screen asking you to register. You can choose your Google account or log in as a guest.
Download Find My Device
Registration window - In the first option, you must re-enter the password . So if you want to organize surveillance of another person, you need to know his data. But at the bottom there is an interesting option “Don’t ask again” . If it is active, you will not need a password to log in.
- Now a window appears with the terms of use, which we accept and move on. A map is displayed showing the current position of the device.
At the bottom of the screen is the name of the mobile device and useful functions. “Call” is a sound signal, thanks to which you can find a smartphone in the room.
“Set up data blocking and deletion” – clears information from the gadget or blocks it if it falls into the hands of intruders.
Find the device on the map and use useful functions
Note! Tracking occurs via GPS, so if the navigation system is turned off, you will not receive accurate data about your mobile device.
Method 4: through special applications
If none of the above options suits you, you can resort to the help of programs made specifically to determine the location of the device. In fact, such utilities are far from uncommon; there are many of them, but we will discuss the most convenient and functional ones.
Lookout Security & Antivirus
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Antivirus | Lookout
Developer: Lookout Mobile Security
Price: Free
A good program that perfectly performs its main options: tracking and remote control of an Android device. But just such a utility can no longer be found on Google Play. Use another trusted source, but be careful with viruses.
First, you need to register in your personal account , indicating your email, password, phone number, etc. Next, you can find out where your smartphone is currently located.
If necessary, activate a sound signal to help you find the device in the room. Please note that the melody will play even in silent mode. Complete data clearing from your phone is also available. If the device is turned off or the program is deleted, the last received coordinates are shown to the user.
Real Time GPS Tracker
QR Code
Real Time GPS Tracker
Developer: SkyNavis
Price: Free
Another useful tool with a non-standard name. We install the program on the phone of the person we are going to monitor, go through registration and indicate our smartphone. Alerts about the user's location will be sent there.
The utility also contains automatic emergency messages: “On line”, “SOS”, “Free”. These phrases will be very useful in many situations.
X-GPS Monitor
QR Code
X-GPS Monitor
Developer: SquareGPS
Price: Free
A similar application that can be downloaded without problems from Google Play . Able to track specific users on the map, shows satellite and street, more accurate navigator. Of course, it is possible to monitor your own movement around the city.
Exclusive feature: built-in chat, with which you can communicate with the people you are tracking without resorting to separate messengers.
Useful applications
There are some apps that make it easier to find mobile devices. The most popular of them are the following programs.
- Cerberus is a service that helps you find a mobile device that is disconnected from the Internet. You can manage the program online or via messages. The application is capable of not only providing exact coordinates, but also keeping a call log, recording sound, and tracking the device on a map. However, there is one drawback: only experienced users can configure the application, as root rights are required.
- CM Security - this program does not search for phones, but it protects them from being turned off and put into airplane mode. This will help if the device is stolen; the attacker will not be able to deactivate the phone, so it will be easier to find it. In addition, the program will sound a loud beep if someone tries to take the phone out of their pocket. The application is paid, costs $75 per month.
There are other services, but they are not as widespread, and their functionality is somewhat limited compared to the applications described above.
