GPS itself is a great feature for navigation while driving or hiking, which is used on a daily basis.
If you download your map ahead of time, it works perfectly without an internet connection as well.
This feature has made our lives easier but also brings certain privacy concerns forth.
One of the most important questions is how to detect a GPS tracker on your cell phone.
Nowadays, not only hackers but also concerned parents can spy on their children with a simple phone tracker app.
In this article, you can find out everything about the different methods and how to detect hidden GPS trackers on your smartphone.
Keep reading!
3 Ways To Detect a GPS Tracker On Your Cell Phone
Tracking Apps
This is one of the most common and easiest ways, therefore widely used by family members.
There are specific apps which are only needed to be downloaded to the concerning device.
With a few simple clicks, anyone can track your every step!
So, how can you detect a GPS tracker app on your cell phone?
You have to look for any unknown application on your device – but make sure to check all folders as these are always hidden apps.
Even better, you might also use the file search feature, enable the “Show hidden files” option, then start typing keywords related to GPS, spy, track (you get the idea), and look for any potential results that may come up.
Using Existing Apps
Another really common way for tracking is to use apps that are already installed and used on a daily basis.
2 Types are in question: The ones which are designed for location sharing and the others which ask for user permission to use the location.
The first ones are apps such as Family Locator or Life360, these are originally harmless applications until your location gets shared with the wrong people.
For this reason, it’s advised to frequently check in such apps if location sharing is active.
The latter ones like Google Maps are quite common nowadays, as most applications ask permission to use our location.
They use your data for a legitimate reason, however, it can easily be abused by hackers to track your location.
As it is a frequent issue, it’s important to know if your phone is being monitored or not.
The answer is another app designed for such purposes.
You can find many of those for Android and iOS as well, aiming to detect which applications have access to your location.
By using an app for this task, you can follow up on location sharing at all times.
Lastly, both Android and iOS track your most frequently visited locations and store these data on a specific map.
If you are suspicious of GPS tracking, or you saw an unexpected peak in data usage, you should turn this feature off for a few weeks or months.
Prevention is Key
From the given methods above you can easily understand that all tracking apps and spywares can only be installed by getting a hold of your smartphone for a short time.
Therefore, the most important prevention is to never leave your phone out of sight – especially in public places.
To be more secure, you must use a PIN or password on your device as well.
Last but not least, checking you phone health might also help you detect gps tracking. It can be as simple as slower performance, decreasing battery level, or lower screen brightness.
