Can Someone Track You Down by Your Cell Phone Number? [EXPLAINED]
The straightforward answer is Yes! Even a few years ago tracking down someone’s location by his cell phone number sounded crazy. At that time tracking location was based on installing a GPS tracker device.
But nowadays technology has become so advanced that anyone can track anyone’s location using tracking programs. It doesn’t matter what type of smartphone you’re using, anyone can easily track you if you intentionally let them do so via any suitable app or unintentionally click a malicious link cleverly provided by an intruder.
This post has all the relevant information about how someone can track you down by your cell phone number. Just stick with it till the end. So, without wasting time, let’s get started!
How Can Someone Track You Down by Your Cell Phone Number?
There can be two different perspectives behind tracking your location. One, your loved one wants to know your location, and the other one, a hacker wants to know your location. Let’s start with the first one.
1. You Let Someone Track You
When you go outside, naturally you’re loved ones may want to know where you are and when you may reach your destination. You can easily convince them by letting them track your location.
Google Maps is the most convenient way to share your location to let anyone track your location using your phone number. You can allow them this way –
Step 1: Open Google Maps on your phone and tap on your Profile.
Step 2: Select Location Sharing and choose Share location.
Step 3: Set a duration of location sharing.
Step 4: After that, choose the contacts of your loved ones to share your location. Then tap Share to send it. They’ll get a notification regarding this.
This is how they can track your current location including your phone’s remaining battery percentage.
2. Hacker Illegally Track You
Rarely a person may have no enemy. There can be people who want to harm you and to do so, they may need to know your location.
However, tracking you via your cell number without letting you know is quite an easy task, if you don’t hesitate to click on any link being unaware of the consequences.
There’s an infamous website named localize.mobi that helps anyone who pays for a monthly subscription by tracking position. Here’s the entire procedure –
Step 1: On this website, the hacker provides your cell phone number.
Step 2: Then the site will send a text message to your number including a link and convincing words.
Step 3: If you don’t judge the message very well and click the link out of curiosity, your phone’s location will appear on a digital map, under located numbers section, on that site.
As you can see, there’s no other difficulty to track you down unless you don’t click the link, as simple as that! Once you click the link, your security and privacy will get compromised along with your location.
NOTE: Till now, we’ve discussed the matter regarding regular people. But you’ve to keep in mind that your cellular operator or administrative authority is always capable of tracking you via your cell number.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is it illegal to track someone’s phone number?
Basically, no. Till now, there’s no country or region have announced that tracking someone’s phone is a crime. But here’s a thing! If you do this without any consent of the phone owner, he can form it as a privacy intrusion and may take some legal action.
How can I protect my phone from being tracked?
These are some easy ways to prevent your phone from being tracked –
- Turn off the cellular and WiFi radios (you can do this by disabling airplane mode).
- Turn off location/location services.
- Avoid using any location-based features to keep the GPS inactive.
- Completely shut down your phone and remove the battery if possible.
Is it possible to know if someone is tracking my location?
Unfortunately, the answer is no. Whether your phone is android or IOS based, it doesn’t notify or give you any type of indication that can let you know when an intruder tracks your location.
Can I track my phone that doesn’t have a SIM card?
Yes, you can. Any type of smartphone is vulnerable to tracking down, even though it doesn’t have a SIM card or isn’t connected to an e-SIM network. Using a suitable application and a stable WiFi connection, you can track your phone with ease.
Conclusion
To conclude, the continuous progress in technology brings us to an era when tracking anyone isn’t that difficult. Following the aforementioned methods, anyone can track you down using your phone number. Therefore, always keep aware of these possibilities and avoid clicking any link that you’re not sure of. Share your feedback with us to let us know if the post is useful.
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