Is there a way to spy someone’s location on Google Maps? The answer is yes (and it’s free too).
How to spy someone’s location in real time on Google Maps?
Not everyone knows that Google Maps allows to view a person’s location in real time. This can be useful for supervising your children’s activities or monitoring the movements of a loved one, but it can also be controversial on the legal and ethical front.
There is a simple function - which is also free - to see someone’s location on Google Maps using GPS. To do so, however, you need the consent of the other person to share their location. GPS must be enabled for tracking to work.
Another method to see a person’s location in real-time is through apps specialized in "spying", such as mSpy, which allows you to track the real-time location of the device and be alerted if it leaves a certain area. Many of these only require an Internet connection but often have high costs.
Here are all the steps you need to follow to track someone’s location on Google Maps for free.
How to spy on a person’s location on Google Maps
The first thing to do when spying on a person’s location on Google Maps is not to spy on them at all, but ask them to share their location with us via Google Maps itself. You can do it yourself if you have access to his device.
Consequently, the first step is to physically access the phone to be monitored, know its PIN or passcode, install Google Maps on the phone (if it is not already present), and ensure that the user is logged in to their Google account. After that, you need to enable GPS on your phone.
From the phone whose position you want to know you need to:
- open Google Maps, click on your profile picture, and select “Location sharing”
- click on the “Share location” button
- the application will ask how long you want to share your live location and will ask you to enter the Gmail address of the person you want to share your real-time location with
- allow Google Maps to constantly access your location through the Android settings app and turn off power saving if it is enabled.
Once the user has followed all the previous steps, a notification will be sent to the smartphone of the person who wants to check the location of the other, informing you that the user has shared their location with you.
Immediately afterward, you need to:
- click your profile picture and go to Location Sharing. There you will see people who have shared their location with you. By clicking on them you will be able to see their position in real-time
Remember that you can only see the location of contacts who have given their consent to do so and that they can stop sharing their location at any time. Use this feature only with their consent.
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More ways to see someone’s location on Google Maps
What are some other methods to find someone’s location on Google Maps?
In addition to Google Maps, we have identified four other alternatives for tracking someone’s location:
- "spy" app: this is the most reliable and efficient phone tracking method but it involves costs, there is the risk of improper use related to legality and ethics and rooting of the phone is required to use the advanced features (like keylogging)
- social media tracking: The “Check-in” feature allows people to share their location, but you can’t rely on it
- “Find my device” service: iPhone and Android smartphones have the “Find my device” function to help you find your device if it is lost or stolen
- network-based tracking: Network providers may use cellular networks to attempt to pinpoint the location of a device.
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2024-04-18 07:48:00. Original title: Come spiare la posizione di una persona su Google Maps
