When you talk about tracking a cell phone, it does sound like a hard thing to do. You might be thinking that you need some professional hacking skills and knowledge to track a cell phone.
But don’t worry! I’m here to tell you that you can track a cell phone with little knowledge of some tracking apps. You will know the exact live location and the past location history of one’s cell phone.
So continue to read this blog if you want to learn more about tracking a cell phone.
Is it possible to track a cell phone?
Yes, it is very much possible to track a cell phone, and there are many ways you can do that. You can track a cell phone through different spy apps or by a mobile number.
You can track a cell phone through your Google account. You can also use an IMEI number or an IP address to track the location of a cell phone.
In this blog, you will learn different ways of tracking a cell phone, the reasons for tracking a cell phone, and more.
Why do you need to track a cell phone?
You might need to track a cell phone for many reasons. Some of them are:
To track your kids’ whereabouts.
If you are a parent, you must be concerned about your kids’ safety. You want to know where they are 24/7. But it’s not possible.
Kids are more prone to being in danger.
They can go someplace dangerous. More than that, predators lurk all over the place who can lure and kidnap them.
So, you need to track your kids’ cell phones to know their live location. It will give you the exact location of where your kids are at any time. Thus it gives you peace of mind.
To track your employees.
If you’re an employer, you’ll want to know your employees’ performance. So you need a record of where your staff is during business hours.
Likewise, if your employees work in the field or at different locations, you’ll want to make sure they’re at the correct place at the right time.
To catch your cheating spouse.
Tracking your spouse’s cell phone can be the best way to catch your cheating spouse as it tells you every place your spouse has been to.
So if your spouse is telling you that they are at work, but you are feeling suspicious, track their cell phone. If they are lying and are somewhere else, you can catch your cheating spouse with ease.
To locate your lost or stolen phone.
If you’ve lost or misplaced your phone, then it may be hard for you to find it. Also, if someone has stolen your phone, you can bid your phone a goodbye as there will be no chance of finding it.
But if you track your cell phone, you can exactly know the live location of your cell phone. Hence, it can help you find your lost, misplaced, or stolen phone.
Top 6 Best Spy Apps that you can use to track a cell phone
Here I have enlisted and explained my top picks for the best 6 spy apps in no particular order that you can use to track a cell phone.
- MobileSpy
- Spyic
- FamiSafe
- Net Nanny
- Hoverwatch
- Netsanity
MobileSpy
Overview of MobileSpy
MobileSpy has a complete cell phone tracking and monitoring package that helps you track the location of your kids or business employees. It has all the features that you need to keep track of mobile activities.
MobileSpy can help you track location, text messages, phone calls, social media, photos and videos, and much more. It periodically updates its features and adds new ones as well.
Features of MobileSpy
With MobileSpy, you will be able to track:
- Live Location and Geofencing
You can track the location of your target user anywhere they go. Track every step the user makes.
You can also set up a virtual geographical boundary around the target user that alerts you whenever the user enters or exits a location. So it’s more than just location tracking.
- Call and Contacts:
With MobileSpy, you can know who the person you’re spying on is talking to, along with their complete contact details.
- Instant Messaging Chats and Text Messages:
You can track the text messages and texts from various IM chat apps like Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Viber, Tinder, WhatsApp, etc.
- Web History:
MobileSpy will also help you to track the history of every search made by the target user. You can look up every website they have been to, along with the top websites they view.
- Keylogger:
MobileSpy allows you to track every letter the user types on their keypad. More than that, you will set alerts when the user types in specified words on their keypad.
Spyic
Overview of Spyic
If you want to monitor what the people in your life are doing, you might want to use the Spyic app. Spyic is a web service that helps you protect the people you care about by allowing you to view activity on their phones.
Spyic is simple and easy to use. When you install Spyic on the target user, you can know where they are, who they are talking to, and what they are doing on their phone?
Spyic works with apps like Facebook, Viber, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and more. It also places particular importance on data security to ensure that you’re safe from any threat of malware or viruses.
Features of Spyic
Spyic has the following features:
- Message Monitoring:
Read all incoming and outgoing text messages or multimedia messages. You can even read those messages that have been erased.
You can access each text’s attached timestamps. Also, track MMS media files. Find the complete details like name, phone number, and image of the sender or receiver.
- Location Tracking:
View the current and previous GPS and WiFi locations of the target’s cell phone. With timestamps, you can keep track of their movements.
You can also find addresses and pinpoint the exact geographical coordinates.
- Geofencing Alert:
You can create a virtual border for the target device. After that, you can receive notifications when the user enters or exits the marked zone.
- SIM Location Tracking:
View information about SIM cards, including the network and IMEI number. See the complete information if the user adds a new SIM card.
Track and view the target phone’s network position. You can also save the IMEI number if you want to hunt down a phone that has gone missing.
- Stealth Mode:
Spyic works in complete stealth mode. You can remotely monitor location, SMS, and chat messages.
Also, hide the app icon after installation on the target Android phone. If the target user has an iOS phone, then you don’t even need to download the Spyic app on their phone.
FamiSafe
Overview of FamiSafe
Famisafe is a product of Wondershare, which is parental control spying software. FamiSafe allows you to track your friends and family’s whereabouts in real-time, monitor your child’s screen time, and detect unsuitable content on their devices.
If you are a parent, FamiSafe helps your kids create healthy digital habits. As most children now own tablets or phones, parents should monitor their children’s devices and set sensible time limits for their use.
Also, as children grow older, they become more self-reliant and desire to explore the world independently. So you may use FamiSafe to track down your kids wherever they are.
Features of FamiSafe
FamiSafe is more than just a cell phone tracking app because of the following features:
- Family Locator:
You can track the target user in real-time and review their past location history. Also, get quick notifications when the user enters or exits Geofences.
At any time, you can get a hold of the target user’s current location. Check to see if your friends and family are where they are supposed to be as needed.
You can also track their frequently visited places.
- Activity Report:
You can examine your target’s phone usage daily. Find out when and which apps the user uses the most.
It helps you find out if the target user is addicted to any applications.
- App Usage and Blocker:
Block apps on user’s devices to prevent unintentional distribution and obsessive app usage.
FamiSafe categorizes apps based on their intended audience. It will help your friends and family to devote more time to meaningful activities.
- Screen Time:
Keep track of the user’s app usage. You can also block social media and gaming apps that aren’t appropriate.
Set smart timetables and limit the number of time your family members can spend on their devices.
- Keylogger:
You can track the device’s keypad as well. Just select the category of the suspicious word you want to keep an eye on.
You can easily enable or disable tracking for several kinds of risky terms. You can get alerts when the user types in the specific word term.
- Web Content:
You can ban problematic websites and provide a safe and age-appropriate internet environment for your family.
You can activate safe search to prevent search results from containing explicit information. View your target user’s internet history and check private or incognito browsing history from afar.
To avoid any exclusions, FamiSafe filters websites by category. It is powered by tens of thousands of website categories, including drug, violence, adult, and more.
Net Nanny
Overview of Net Nanny
Net Nanny is another parental control app that you can use to track the cell phone of your friends, families, and loved ones.
Its revolutionary new family feed comes with instant reporting of online searches. You can access your family’s apps and get real-time content alerts for suicide, porn, weapons, and drug-related content.
You can use Net Nanny to keep track of your family’s online activities and protect them from wrong information. You can regulate screen time with the ability to alter screen time limitations at your fingertips.
Features of Net Nanny
The features of Net Nanny consist of:
- Track Location:
You’ll never have to wonder where your friends and family are with Net Nanny. You can always know where they are with Net Nanny’s smart location technology.
There’s no need to call or contact them because you can track their cell phone using GPS location tracking and check their whereabouts on the Family Overview Map with Net Nanny’s location tracking.
- Screen Time Management:
Managing screen time can be difficult, but with Net Nanny, you can regain control of the internet and set limits on your family’s screen time.
You can help your family balance screen time and downtime by scheduling when they can access the internet. You can simply set a curfew or turn off the internet.
- YouTube Tracking:
The amount of time one spends online is increasing, and YouTube has an endless supply of new entertainment.
The Net Nanny YouTube Monitoring feature keeps you informed while also providing powerful options for setting YouTube limitations, monitoring YouTube usage, and ensuring online safety.
- Social Media Protection:
Net Nanny provides advanced management and monitoring options for social media services.
Net Nanny uses Artificial Intelligence to assess if the information is safe and acceptable for your family, rather than simply blocking inappropriate services.
- Family Feed:
With an easy-to-understand summary of all your family’s digital activities, you’ll be able to track your family’s digital device use and online activity in real-time.
It provides your family the security they need to securely surf the web by blocking websites, filtering the internet, and limiting screen time.
- Internet Filter:
Net Nanny goes beyond typical whitelists and blacklists of websites by allowing you to adjust to your target user’s online activities on a content category level.
A whitelist contains proper material, whereas a blacklist contains websites that you should restrict due to adult or inappropriate content.
Hoverwatch: Cell Phone Tracker
Overview of Hoverwatch
With Hoverwatch, you can track a cell phone for free. Hoverwatch is a cell phone tracker you can use to record and track live calls, call history, text messages, contacts, locations, social media, internet activities, and more.
It is available for your Android, Windows, and Mac OS X devices. Hoverwatch has a free keylogger function for Windows and Mac OS.
The Hoverwatch software’s free keylogger feature allows you to record all keystrokes and messages written on the device’s keyboard you want to monitor.
Features of Hoverwatch
Some of the features of Hoverwatch that make it one of the best cell phone trackers are:
- Complete Stealth Mode:
Even if the target user knows how their devices work, the cell phone tracker’s invisibility feature allows it to remain fully concealed from the user. Thus, Hoverwatch allows you to track a phone without them knowing.
While being invisible to the target user of the monitored smartphone, the Hoverwatch cell phone tracker app obtains the most accurate information.
- Text Messages and Calls:
Hoverwatch SMS tracker for cell phones allows you to keep track of all incoming or outgoing calls.
You may view all SMS and MMS messages sent or received by the target user with the SMS tracker software.
You can also track and examine the images, videos, and files sent and received in MMS messages from your Hoverwatch dashboard.
- IM Apps Tracking:
This cell phone tracker app allows you to read conversations made via the Instant Messaging apps like Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook apps.
All pictures, files, videos, and audio recordings sent or received in a Facebook, Viber, WhatsApp, Instagram, and other IM apps conversation can be tracked and saved.
- Geolocation Tracking:
Hoverwatch’s GPS mobile tracker feature allows you to see and track the location of the target user’s device from your account’s dashboard.
The Hoverwatch cell phone tracker employs GPS(Global Positioning System), WiFi signals, and cell phone towers to track the cell phone’s location.
- Phone Screenshots:
When you need to know when, how, and by whom the target phone is used, this capability comes in handy. With this feature, you can catch the culprit when your phone has been stolen.
You can use Hoverwatch’s phone tracker app to take screenshots regularly. So you’ll know whether your smartphone is used for instant messaging, browsing the internet, chatting, or monitoring social media.
- Internet History:
Hoverwatch free mobile tracker can monitor any web activity on the target phone or PC, including viewing internet history and checking the URL, time, and date of visited websites.
You can also track what websites the target user frequently visits and what type of searches they make.
The Hoverwatch internet history tracker is beneficial to employers, married people, and, of course, parents, as it aids in the resolution of numerous job and personal issues.
NetSanity
Overview of Netsanity
Netsanity is another best parental control and cell phone tracker app that helps track mobile activities, create custom schedules, block inappropriate apps and sites. It can block more than 70 explicit apps and games.
It helps you protect your family and keep them safe. You can use Netsanity on Samsung mobile devices, iPhones, and iPads by quickly adding a suite of parental control capabilities to the devices’ built-in features.
However, this app only works on Samsung devices in the case of Android devices.
Features of Netsanity
Some of the features of Netsanity include:
- Locate cell phone:
Netsanty uses Google Maps and GPS to track your target user’s mobile devices in a matter of seconds. You can view the last known position of the user’s cell phone on a Google Map.
Netsanity gives the location within 100 yards of accuracy and refreshes the location every 5 minutes. Thus you can track the exact location of the target user every single time.
- Disable Apps:
You can create a personalized internet for your family members by enabling or disabling specified websites.
When you pair this feature with other features, this function can be potent. Simply click the “Disable” or “Enable” button to control if the app is accessible on the target user’s device using the disable apps solution.
- Block Texting:
Along with text tracking, with a single click of your mouse or a tap of your finger, you can stop SMS texting from any phone number.
Alternatively, you can turn off all texting right away. Thus you can regain control over your family’s texting habits.
- Manage two devices:
With Netsanity’s free tracking feature, you can track the location of two devices at once. You can manage it from any device that has an internet connection.
- Manage data:
You can track and analyze the data usage by the target device. Also, adjust the quantity of cellular data a target user can consume on a day, week, or month.
You can view each app’s data usage on both cellular and WiFi connections.
How to Use Spy Apps to Track a Cell Phone?
Some steps may differ as per the apps. However, some of the basic steps to track a cell phone include the following:
- First, you need to pick a spy app. Here above, I have mentioned my top picks for the best spy apps to track a location.
- Then the next step is to pick a subscription plan as per your budget. You will also need a valid email address.
- Once you finish the subscription process. You will receive a welcome mail in your email. There you get your login credentials and also the way to install the spy app.
- Now you have to install the spy app on the target mobile that you want to track. You can do that remotely or just by physically accessing the mobile. It only takes some minutes.
- After you install the spy app on the target cell phone, you are good to go. Log in to the official website of your spy app from your PC or mobile.
- Go to the dashboard or the control panel. Now on the sidebar, you can see the location tracking option.
- Click on the option, and then you can track the live geolocation or the history. You can see when the person has been to or where they are right now.
How to track a cell phone with an IP address?
What is an IP address?
The IP Address (Internet protocol address) is a numerical identifier associated with every computer, cell phone, or computer network. When your computers or phones are connected to the internet, the IP address allows them to send and receive data.
How to know a cell phone’s IP Address?
To track a cell phone with an IP address, you will need to identify the IP address of the particular cell phone you want to track.
You can know the IP address of your cell phone by Googleing “What’s my IP address?” from the same cell phone device.
If you want to know the IP address of another cell phone, you don’t have physical access to; you can do that through a Gmail account. However, you should connect the Gmail account to that particular cell phone.
To find the IP address via Gmail, follow the steps below:
- Log in to your Gmail account.
- You can see a link in the interface’s bottom right-hand corner.
- Click on the “Details” link. It will open an “Activity Information” window.
- You can see the cell phone’s location and IP address in the Activity Information window and the last few activities in the Activity Information window.
Use IP address to track location.
Once you get a hold of the cell phone you want to track, you can track a cell phone location online by using any IP location service.
On the internet, you can find various IP location services that will tell you an IP address’s location and what internet service provider it belongs to. Some of those online IP location services include IPLocatin.net and tools.keycdn.com.
However, an IP address can’t give you the exact location. It can only give away the city that a cell phone is located in.
How to track a cell phone with an IMEI number?
You can also track a cell phone location with the help of the mobile’s IMEI number. But first, let’s know what an IMEI number means.
What is an IMEI number?
Each mobile phone is given an IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number. You can use a unique 15-digit serial number to verify information such as the mobile’s Developer, Manufacturer, Country of Origin, and Model Number.
If you want to know the IMEI number of a phone, you can find it by dialing “*#06#.” IMEI number is the best way to track your lost or stolen phone as even if the thief has changed the SIM or formatted the phone, the IMEI number remains the same.
So, once you know the IMEI number, you can use IMEI tracker apps to track a cell phone for free. One of the best apps is:
IMEI Tracker – Find My Device
With the IMEI Tracker app, you can track a cell phone location for free. It uses an IMEI number or mobile number to track your mobile device.
You can download the IMEI Tracker app on any Android device above version 4.3 for free.
Follow these steps mentioned below to track a cell phone using an IMEI number:
- First, download and install the IMEI Tracker app from the Play Store on your Android phone.
- Once the installation is complete, open the app.
- After authorizing permission for access to the app, you will be asked to enter the phone numbers of trusted members of your family or friend group.
- If your mobile is stolen or lost by someone and a new SIM is installed, SMS notifications with the IMEI number and location of your phone will be sent to those trusted numbers automatically.
- IMEI Tracker displays the exact location of the phone on the screen. You can then track the location of the cell phone using the IMEI number.
- You can also send an SMS or a text message like “get the lost phone” to the lost device from any other device, and the software will recognize it and respond with the precise location.
Important things to remember while installing IMEI Tracker app
Here are few things that you should know before installing the IMEI Tracker app:
- IMEI Tracker reads your location data and shares it with the registered phone number on a server on the internet.
- It works with cell phones that have a GPS gadget built-in and connectivity and the internet.
- The accuracy of the position and the sending of information to the app’s server depends on the accuracy of the mobile phone’s GPS unit and its Internet connection.
- You can only install and use it on devices that the user has permission to monitor or that the device owner is aware of and agrees to monitor.
- The tracking location data can stop due to a connection failure. So, it’s best if you employ connections with more amplitude like 3G or 4G networks.
How to track a cell phone using Google Maps?
You can track a cell phone location for free by using the Google Maps feature of Google. You can use Google Maps to track both iPhone and Android phones.
This Google tool allows you to trace your misplaced phone. But first, you must enable the Google Maps settings. Google then records every location activity of your smartphone.
Follow the following steps to track a cell phone using Google Maps:
- From the cell phone, you want to track, log in to a Google account.
- Go to Google settings and enable Google location and turn on the location history.
- After you enable the Google location, from the homepage and select “Today.”
- You’ll obtain all of your phone’s location history and be able to track it down. You can review the prior location history and see if your cell phone is still or moving.
How to track someone’s location with a phone number?
If you have a question “Can I track a cell phone with just a number?” Then the answer is: yes, you can. Here are the ways to track a cell phone number for free:
Track a cell phone with a Phone Number: iPhone
For an iPhone, the best app you can use to track a cell phone via phone number is:
Phone Tracker by Number
Phone Tracker by Number is an entirely free app that helps you track a cell phone location by number quickly and precisely. It has a robust GPS tracker that not only tracks your phone, but also the phones of your family, and friends.
Phone Tracker app lets you create a private network to add an infinite amount of phone numbers of your friends and family.
Features of Phone Tracker by Number
- View the entire location history for free.
- Receive GPS alerts or notifications when a member of your private network is close by.
- The phone tracker optimizes battery usage and location accuracy by combining cell tracking and GPS tracking.
- Easily locate your phone if it has been misplaced or stolen.
- The app is compatible with all mobile network providers.
How can you use “Phone Tracker by Number” to track a cell phone?
- Download and install the Phone Tracker app.
- Once the installation is complete, open the app. Use your mobile number to register.
- Now invite other friends by tapping on the “send invitation” button.
- Select phone numbers that you want to track. It can be of your family members or friends, etc.
- When your family member or friend clicks on the invitation link and accepts the request, they will join your private network. Now you can track their cell phone down in any location.
Track a cell phone with a Phone Number: Android
For an Android, the best app you can use to track a cell phone via phone number is:
OneLocator: Phone Tracker By Number
OneLocator is a free app. It helps you track the cell phone of your kids, friends, or family members using phone numbers. It uses GPS to track your cell phone.
It has more than 50 million users. Like the Phone Tracker app for iPhone, OneLocator also allows you to create a personal private network where you can infinitely add phone numbers for free.
Features of OneLocator
- When one of the members of your private network is close by, you’ll receive GPS notifications.
- To improve battery usage and location accuracy, OneLocator employs both GPS tracking and cell monitoring.
- You can add an unlimited number of users to your private network.
- You can quickly locate your lost or stolen phone by tracking through the phone of registered numbers.
- OneLocator supports all of the mobile network operators.
How can you use “OneLocator: Phone Tracker By Number” to track a cell phone?
- Download and install the OneLocator app on your Android phone.
- Once it’s done, open the app. Register using a mobile number.
- Invite other people by tapping on the “send invitation” button.
- Now select the phone numbers of the people that you want to track.
- When other people you have sent the invitation click on the link and accept the request, they will join your private network.
- Now you can track their cell phone down in any location.
Is it legal to track a cell phone?
It is not always legal to track someone with a cell phone, even though it is technically possible. Many factors come into play when you talk about the legality of tracking a cell phone.
But first, let me make this clear: tracking someone who doesn’t know you without their permission is completely illegal. You might have to face different legal repercussions if you do that.
So who can you legally track? You can track your family members and close friends’ cell phones. But, it’s best to inform them before you start tracking them.
If you are a parent and your kids are under 18(or under legal age), you can use parental control and monitoring apps to track their cell phones or other devices.
Also, if you own a business or are an employer, you can track your employees through your company’s devices within the premises. So, you also have to learn to separate their personal and separate lives.
The legality of tracking someone also depends on the type of app you are using to track and local state laws. So before you install an app to track someone, read the terms and conditions and the app’s privacy laws.
You should also be aware of your local state laws to save yourself from any sort of legal ramifications.
Do social sites like Google, Facebook, Instagram track your cell phone?
Yes, social sites do track your cell phone. Let me give you some examples.
Suppose you visited a new location like a restaurant, or a museum, or a theme park. Does your phone show you that location and ask you to rate that location?
Likewise, suppose you were searching for some clothes or accessories online. Later on, while using social sites like Facebook and Instagram, do the same clothes and accessories come as an ad pop-up?
Yes, it does. The reason is, social sites like Google, Facebook, Instagram have algorithms designed in such a way that track your every movement.
It can track your messages, voice, locations, calls, search history, and other activities. Then these sites use those tracked records to create ads that are catered to you specifically.
You can protect your cell phone from being tracked by social apps and secure your data. To do that, you can go to your device’s settings and disable access to your calls, contacts, messages, and locations by these social apps.
My Final Thoughts
So to sum it all up in a few words, yes, you can track a cell phone in many ways.
To track a cell phone using spy apps, you can use apps like MobieSpy, Net Nanny, FamiSafe, Spyera, Hoverwatch, Net Sanity, etc.
To track a cell phone via the phone number, you can use the Phone Tracker by Number app for an iPhone and the OneLocator app for an Android phone.
Likewise, if you want to track a cell phone via an IMEI number, you can use the IMEI Tracker app. You can also use an IP address or Google Maps to track a cell phone, and how to do that, I have explained above.
Finally, tracking a cell phone can have some legal ramifications if you are not careful. So before you use an app to track a cell phone, read the terms and conditions and privacy policy of the app, and be aware of your local state laws.
I’m a tech enthusiast, entrepreneur, digital marketer and professional blogger equipped with skills in Digital Marketing, SEO, SEM, SMM, and lead generation. My objective is to simplify technology for you through detailed guides and reviews. I discovered WordPress while setting up my first business site and instantly became enamored. When not crafting websites, making content, or helping clients enhance their online ventures, I usually take care of my health and spend time with family, and explore the world. Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or read my complete biography.