Knowing where a person is located is possible today thanks to smartphones and the position sharing function made available by many popular applications. Certainly the consent of those who are sought is always necessary, even if, using a bit of cunning and some basic notions of computer science, it is also possible to know someone's position, tracking him down without his knowing it (however we remind you that the penalties for stalking crimes are severe even in Italy).
Speaking of the location sharing apps, it is possible not only to know where a person is precisely, but also to follow his movements in real time, which becomes comfortable when you want to monitor someone (for example to control the exits of children) and when you have to meet, not to get lost and to always stay in close contact.Whatsapp
WhatsApp allows you to share the location as if it were an attachment, to be entered directly in a chat. When you press on the bottom paperclip, in fact, you can choose to send a photo, a document or the position; to use this option it is necessary to authorize WhatsApp to access the location using the phone's location services.
But the real monitoring function can be activated by sharing the position in real time on WhatsApp, so that the recipient can see our movements for a certain period of time, up to a maximum of 8 hours.
Obviously, in order to use this continuous monitoring function, the same person to be monitored must activate it: we cannot activate continuous monitoring on our own initiative.Facebook
Facebook has two different functions for knowing where a friend or person is located; the first function is located on the Facebook app for Android and iPhone and is called Friends nearby .
It shows on an updated map if there are friends in the surrounding area to talk or meet and also allows you to share our position with others.
The second location function is that of Facebook Messenger, where it is possible to follow the movements of friends in real time in a way very similar to what has already been seen with WhatsApp.
Also in this case, the friend with whom we share the position will be able to see on the map how we move and where we are at all times, until the time runs out or the sharing is interrupted.
The operation is completely similar to when already seen on WhatsApp: we press on the paperclip at the bottom, we press on the Position button and we choose whether to send the current position or whether to share the position in real time for a certain period of time.
The limits of this solution are related to the nature of the service itself: only those who want to be actually tracked will activate the position in real time, so that we can follow it for the indicated period of time.
Using the accounts and dedicated web pages we can retrieve the position of each smartphone turned on and connected to the Internet, we will only have to add our personal account. Obviously, adding a personal account to another person's phone will also lead to sharing our personal information and authorizing the purchase of apps in the respective stores; unless we are sure that our phone is not seen (perhaps hiding it in a bag or backpack), we recommend that you use the parental control systems, which are particularly useful with younger children.
Leaving aside this illegal activity, in another article we instead explained a clever trick to trace IP and location from Whatsapp, Facebook, Email and websites, by sending a link that if clicked by the recipient gives us his IP. From IP it is possible, theoretically, to locate and find the geographical position of a mobile phone or PC, even if not in a too precise way.
If we want to spy on another person at all costs, we can deepen the topic by reading our guides Check / spy on another's phone (Android) and App as secret agent for Android to spy, track positions, messages and more .
In another guide we showed you All the ways to track your phone (Android, iPhone, Windows), while in yet another we can read the precautions not to be spied on the phone, so as to avoid most of the "virtual" stalking we can run into.
Speaking of the location sharing apps, it is possible not only to know where a person is precisely, but also to follow his movements in real time, which becomes comfortable when you want to monitor someone (for example to control the exits of children) and when you have to meet, not to get lost and to always stay in close contact.
How to track down a person
The applications to follow people's movements and know where they are are practically present on all smartphones, being the most used apps at the moment. In addition to the famous ones, we can also install other types of apps for real-time location monitoring, so you can choose which one to use from time to time.But the real monitoring function can be activated by sharing the position in real time on WhatsApp, so that the recipient can see our movements for a certain period of time, up to a maximum of 8 hours.
Obviously, in order to use this continuous monitoring function, the same person to be monitored must activate it: we cannot activate continuous monitoring on our own initiative.
It shows on an updated map if there are friends in the surrounding area to talk or meet and also allows you to share our position with others.
The second location function is that of Facebook Messenger, where it is possible to follow the movements of friends in real time in a way very similar to what has already been seen with WhatsApp.
Also in this case, the friend with whom we share the position will be able to see on the map how we move and where we are at all times, until the time runs out or the sharing is interrupted.
Telegram
The Telegram app, that is the main rival of WhatsApp, offers among the many features also the sharing of the position in real time and the simple sharing of the coordinates of the point where we are.
The operation is completely similar to when already seen on WhatsApp: we press on the paperclip at the bottom, we press on the Position button and we choose whether to send the current position or whether to share the position in real time for a certain period of time.
The limits of this solution are related to the nature of the service itself: only those who want to be actually tracked will activate the position in real time, so that we can follow it for the indicated period of time.
Android and iPhone anti-theft system
If the phone in use by the person to follow is associated with our Google account or Apple ID, we will be able to follow every move using the anti-theft systems integrated in Android and iPhone .
Using the accounts and dedicated web pages we can retrieve the position of each smartphone turned on and connected to the Internet, we will only have to add our personal account. Obviously, adding a personal account to another person's phone will also lead to sharing our personal information and authorizing the purchase of apps in the respective stores; unless we are sure that our phone is not seen (perhaps hiding it in a bag or backpack), we recommend that you use the parental control systems, which are particularly useful with younger children.
Other methods of knowing where a person is located
Those seen so far are the simplest and most immediate methods to know where a person is, but we can also use one of the methods or apps indicated below to start tracking the position:- Google Maps : the function to share the position in Google Maps in real time is very effective because it opens directly on the Google world map and is extremely precise. To use this function, simply touch it in the main menu of Google Maps. Sharing can take place by sending a link to be opened through Google or even through other chats such as Messenger or WhatsApp.
- Google Trusted Contacts : on Android smartphones Google also makes available another application, called Trusted Contacts, to let people know where we are.
- Find my friends on the iPhone : as explained in another article, among friends who use the iPhone you can use the application developed by Apple to know the location of friends, with "Find my friends".
How to spy on a phone
If you want to make a location as a real "spy", as we often do in the movies, you should hack that person's cell phone by sending him a virus or some disguised interceptor (very difficult and above all illegal!).
Leaving aside this illegal activity, in another article we instead explained a clever trick to trace IP and location from Whatsapp, Facebook, Email and websites, by sending a link that if clicked by the recipient gives us his IP. From IP it is possible, theoretically, to locate and find the geographical position of a mobile phone or PC, even if not in a too precise way.
If we want to spy on another person at all costs, we can deepen the topic by reading our guides Check / spy on another's phone (Android) and App as secret agent for Android to spy, track positions, messages and more .
Conclusions
Excluding illegal activities (which we do not recommend following as you run the risk of ending up in prison), we can use various legal systems to know where a person is, always if the person wants to be tracked. Unfortunately, many of the users who come to these guides are looking for a quick and fast method to spy on anyone without permission, just for the sake of doing it or to know inconvenient truths: in these cases you will have to rely on professionals or you risk combining serious trouble.In another guide we showed you All the ways to track your phone (Android, iPhone, Windows), while in yet another we can read the precautions not to be spied on the phone, so as to avoid most of the "virtual" stalking we can run into.
