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Trust, safety and security are pressing concerns for both parents and couples in relationships. Learning how to track a phone is a great way to protect your children, and your relationship.
With 57% of Americans in relationships admitting to cheating and getting away with it*, knowing how to track a phone without the person knowing is one of the best ways to get the evidence you need if you have genuine suspicions. Beyond this, cell phone trackers are crucial parental control tools for safeguarding children and can be used to locate lost or stolen smartphone devices.
In this article, I review the top cell phone trackers of 2024 to identify which are the most accurate, reliable, easy-to-use, and quick to install. I’ll also share my tips on how to track someone’s phone discretely without detection.
- Show Full Guide
Techopedia’s Top Picks for Phone Trackers
In a hurry? These are the top three phone tracker apps we’d recommend. We selected them because they’re highly affordable, quick to install, and very easy to use.
Why Use Software to Track a Phone Location?
Reliable cell phone tracker apps let you monitor your child’s, partner’s, or employee’s phone remotely.
These tools can provide a person’s GPS location, Wi-Fi triangulation, and device IP geolocation (GeoIP) so that you can see precisely where they are. They can even set a virtual parameter around a specific area with geofencing so that you get an alert when the person you’re tracking leaves it.
This means that the best cell phone tracker apps can be indispensable family safeguarding tools. They can prevent your children from exposure to harmful or inappropriate websites and apps, reduce screen time, and ensure you’re aware if they stray from a safe location. Here’s some more information on how they can be used for parental control and other forms of monitoring.
Parental Control
With malicious internet content always on the rise, legitimate parental control apps and phone tracker tools are helping concerned parents gain discreet access to their children’s phone activity. This helps keep them safe from sexual predators, scammers, pornography, the dark web, and other dangerous content.
Statistics show that over 500,000* sexual predators spend time online every day looking for their next victim. With an anonymous phone tracker, you can ensure your child is safe by gaining visibility over who they’re talking to and what they’re looking at.
These apps also allow you to track your child’s precise location, and they can even let you set up a geofenced parameter around a safe zone, like their school or friend’s home, so that you’re alerted if they leave this area. This will give you peace of mind, knowing they’re safe — both online and offline.
Monitoring Your Partner
A staggering 30% of Tinder users are married*. Unfortunately, this means that suspicion and uncertainty are on the rise, which can cause disharmony in relationships. A cell phone tracker can confirm your suspicions or give you peace of mind by monitoring your partner’s location and online activities.
If you have a reason to spy on your spouse due to lack of trust or suspicious behavior, tracking their mobile phone using a cheating spouse tracker app could give you the reassurance or clarity you need.
Employee Monitoring
Safeguarding company data can be challenging with modern messaging solutions that include disappearing media and encrypted channels. Investing in employee monitoring software, or installing a cell phone monitoring app on company devices, allows you to supervise employees and prevent data leaks.
In one survey, 56 percent of respondents* admitted that mobile phones were their biggest security concern regarding organization vulnerability. Beyond this, GPS location tracking tools are invaluable for businesses with remote or field workers on site.
To Track a Lost or Stolen Phone
Phone tracking apps are a great way to find a phone’s location if you lose it or it gets stolen. Most smartphones have built-in GPS location trackers to find a lost phone.
Find My Device for Android users (formerly known as Android Device Manager) and Apple’s Find My Network on iOS devices tell you your mobile’s location. Samsung and other smartphone makers have specific applications as well. Remember to enable this feature when you set up a new phone, and you can then use Google Maps to find a lost phone.
While not specifically to track lost or stolen cell phones, you can also use either one of the best iPhone spy apps or the best Android spy apps to find a user’s smartphone.
How to Track a Phone Location Remotely using a Phone Tracker App
There are a few ways to track a cell phone location, including using location services, shared locations, and the phone’s built-in features like Apple’s Find My Network. These will be covered in more detail below.
However, the safest and easiest way to track a phone discreetly is to use a phone tracker app like mSpy. This method offers the most comprehensive information including GPS location history and past routes that have been taken. You can even set up alerts for when certain locations are visited or when certain areas are left, which can be critically important for ensuring children or vulnerable family members aren’t straying into danger. Let’s take a look at how this is done:
How to Track a Phone Location Remotely
Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to track someone's cell phone using mSpy, one of the best around. Note: for iOS devices, you'll need the Cydia app.
Create Your mSpy Account
- Enter your email address.
- Pick an operating system (we are using an Android phone for this guide).
- Choose a plan and subscribe to mSpy.
After you subscribe, mSpy will send you an email that contains your login information, Control Panel link, and Installation URL. Save the email or keep a note of the information.
Disable Play Protect on the Cell Phone
- On Android phones, open the Google Play Store on the other phone. If they have a secure device, you will have to find a way to bypass their lock screen protection.
- Tap the account icon on the top right, choose Play Protect, and enter its settings.
- Move the slider on “Improved Harmful App Detection” so it turns grey.
- Confirm your decision.
Install mSpy on the Device and Start Tracking its Location
- You will need physical access to the other cell phone. Then, open the browser and enter the Installation URL from the email mSpy sent.
- Follow the installation steps until it’s complete.
- Use your device to open the Control Panel URL from the email mSpy sent and log into your mSpy account.
You’ll now have access to mSpy’s dashboard, which you can use to monitor the phone.
Is There a Free App to Track a Phone Without Them Knowing?
Free phone tracking apps exist but we don’t recommend using them, as we highlight on our best free spy apps page. Free tracking spyware is often limited compared to its premium counterparts. Worse, many are often scams with hidden fees, while others share your data with third parties, putting your online security at risk.
Another drawback is that free phone trackers aren’t particularly accurate when it comes to finding a device’s location, but they might work in a pinch if you want to find a lost device.
If you want a comprehensive service with top-notch security and precise location history and tracking, I suggest investing in mSpy, Eyezy, uMobix, or any other premium service from our list.
Other Methods For Tracking Someone’s Cell Phone Location
If you don’t need all the features you get with spy software, there are other ways to keep track of an iOS or Android device.
Track a Phone Location without Installing Software
Built-in features like Google’s Find My Device and Apple’s Find My Network let you track your or your partner’s cell phone location on Android or iOS devices. As long as you have enabled the feature on your phone or activated Location Sharing on your partner’s device, you don’t need a third-party tracking app to find someone’s last known location.
WhatsApp and other messaging platforms also offer a simple way to share your location with someone. This is useful for letting your friends know you are on your way or for knowing where your partner is when they are heading home from work.
Mobile network carriers also offer tracking services for lost or stolen devices, but these aren’t the best options if you want to track someone’s location without them knowing.
Tracking a Phone’s Location with a Phone Number
You can also track someone’s location with their phone number. Understandably, you get the best experience with apps and services like mSpy, Scannero, and others on the list below. However, you might also be able to do so using the Google Maps location-sharing feature.
Once again, third-party apps are the best option if you want to keep things hidden. When using Maps, the person you are tracking will be able to see if location sharing is enabled on their device.
The Best Phone Tracker Apps Tested By Our Experts
With modern technology, tracking a cell phone’s location and more to ensure your child is safe or that your partner isn’t cheating on you is easy. Here are the best phone trackers this year:
Spynger - Feature-Rich Spy App for Tracking Cheaters in Stealth Mode
GEOfinder - Accurate GPS Tracking App With Customizable Geofencing Alerts
Popular Cell Phone Location Tracking Apps Compared
Here’s a quick overview of the best phone tracking software options so you can compare them head-to-head:
| Provider | Best For | Cheapest Price | Demo Included | Number of Devices | Money-Back Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spynger | Tracking cheater phones | $9.28/month | ❌ | 1 | 30 days |
| mSpy | Tracking phones remotely | $11.67/month | Yes | 1 | 14 days |
| uMobix | Incognito monitoring | $12.49/month | Yes | 1 | 14 days |
| Scannero | Live-tracking with just a phone number | $0.89/day | ❌ | 1 | 14 days |
| Phonsee | Advanced phone tracking features on a budget | $8.85/month | Yes | 1 | 14 days |
| SpyBubblePro | Hidden/deleted content and phone tracking | $12.49/month | ❌ | 1 | 14 days |
| Eyezy | Phone tracking with customized alerts | $7.99/month | Yes | Up to 3 | 14 days |
| ClevGuard | Call tracking, listening/recording | $4.99/month | Yes | 1 | 30 days |
How to Choose the Best Software to Track a Cell Phone Location
Finding a reliable, easy-to-use, invisible phone tracker is challenging, considering how many apps rely on false advertising. Here’s what you must look for:
1. Installation
Avoid phone trackers that require more than five minutes of physical access to install. This will make it more difficult to set up the tracker discretely without the phone’s owner knowing. Most phone tracker apps should take les than five minutes to install., including our top picks Spynger and mSpy.
We’d recommend allowing an additional few minutes after installing the app for granting permissions to the people and devices who will be able to track the phone and configuring the setup, such as hiding the app icon.
Beyond this, look for apps that offer a stealth mode and that will deliver your account’s credentials to a legitimate email address. If you only want a phone tracker, you don’t need an app that requires rooting or jailbreaking.
2. Features
Cell phone monitors to track someone’s location have complementary features like message monitoring, call logs and recording, location services, and more. Here’s what to look for, in addition to the exact location history, when choosing a phone tracker:
- Keylogger — captures ever keystroke made on the tracked phone, capturing typed messages, passwords, and search queries.
- Website history viewer — displays full browsing history including the sites visited
- Reading deleted messages — shows deleted SMS, social media, or messaging apps messages
- Remote screenshotting and recording — lets you take screenshots or screen recordings from the target device from a distance
- Blocking dangerous websites and apps remotely — allows your to restrict or block access to dangerous or unsafe websites remotely
- SMS, social media monitoring, and instant messaging apps (e.g. Facebook Messenger) chat history — gives you viewing access to chats on these platforms
- Ability to track any device — Uses GPS and network data to pinpoint real-time locations of tracked devices at any time
3. Pricing
Whether you’re a concerned parent, spouse, business owner, or just trying to find a lost device, you should look for a phone tracker the one that suits your needs and budget.
The good news is, they prices start from less than $5 a month, and most tracking apps offer a significant discount on their annual or two-year plans. You can even pay by the day for phone tracking software if that suits you better; Scannero‘s cheapest service is just $0.89 per day.
Conclusion: How to Track a Cell Phone Location
There are a few different ways you can track a phone location, including several completely free options. If Location Sharing is activated on a smartphone, you can use Google’s Find My Device or Apple’s Find My iPhone Network to figure out where the cell phone is. Some messaging platforms like WhatsApp also allow for location sharing, which can be activated on the ‘target’ device to give visibility over someone’s whereabouts. Some cell phone companies may also offer services for tracking down the location of a specific device on their network.
However, the limitations of the above is that none are ideal if you want to track a phone secretly or discreetly. Third-party phone tracking app or service is the best option if you want to know how to track a cell phone without them knowing, allowing for total discretion and accuracy.
There are plenty of affordable phone-tracker apps out there; based on our in-house testing, you can’t go wrong with the comprehensive features offered by mSpy or Spynger. Both offer highly precise location tracking features and intuitive, easy-to-use dashboards. They let you monitor most activity and incoming and outgoing communications on iOS or Android devices, including messages, call logs, browser history, and more.
FAQs
How do phone trackers work?
How do you track a phone location without them knowing?
Can I track a phone location with just the number?
How can you track a cell phone number using Google Maps?
Can you track a cell phone within 5 seconds?
Is tracking a cell phone without installing anything possible?
Is there a free app to track a phone without them knowing?
Can a phone be tracked if location services are off?
How do you track an Android phone from an iPhone?
References
- How do Predators Find Children Online?*(Beau Biden Foundation)
- How Many Americans Have Cheated on Their Partners in Monogamous Relationships?* (yougov.com)
- Effects of Social Media Use on Marriages* (McKinley Irvin)
- Insider Threat Statistics* (StationX)
