Can Your Phone Be Tracked if Location is Off? Uncovering the Truth

As is the case with most important elements of our daily lives, we only know the extent of the problem when something goes wrong; From Ashley Maddison to the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal, we’ve witnessed a huge array of damaging data breaches over the last few years, to the extent that virtually anyone who owns a phone is concerned something similar may happen to them.

One of the most dangerous breaches of privacy surrounds having a device in our pockets that has the capacity to pinpoint our exact location. We needn’t delve into why this could obviously be very dangerous, but we do need to talk about how location services work so you can best protect yourself – as well as how they can be compromised and whether or not turning them off fully mitigates the risk.

Understanding Location Services

‘Location Services’ ultimately represent several moving parts comprising GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular functionality which work in tandem to pinpoint your location. This sort of information is undeniably useful: it’s a feature most commonly used for GPS directions via map applications, as well as to provide features like up-to-date weather tracking, live updates for public services near you, and checking in at locations on social media.

There are even pro-privacy benefits, such as being able to share your location with friends nearby so they can come and find you if you’re in trouble.

Is Your Location Being Tracked?

While it is technically possible for someone to target you individually, it’s highly unlikely – especially given the technical know-how involved (we’ll cover the main methods further on). But in the rare eventuality that such a problem would occur, you’re safe by just turning location services off, right? Well, not exactly. While turning off Location Services disables the feature for anyone using normal methods to try and locate your phone, using a phone at all leaves a trail wherever you go.

With your phone talking to cell towers and internet stations all the time, it would theoretically be possible for a hacker to locate your device by joining the dots. Once again, though, this sort of scenario would be incredibly unlikely.

Methods of Tracking

It pays to be as informed as possible about how bad actors can track you – however rare that may be. Here’s how it can happen in more detail:

• Spyware: Malicious software can be installed on your device to monitor any activity and your location.
• Cell Site Simulators: While rarer, devices like Stingrays can mimic cell tower operations to intercept your phone's signal without you knowing.
• Wi-Fi: As suggested, Wi-Fi networks typically present with weaker security measures and they also track your location when you connect to them.
• SMS Tracking: Links can be sent via text which, when accessed, reveal your phone's location by sharing your IP address.
• Cellular Towers: When your phone connects to nearby cellular towers your position is at risk of being triangulated (especially if you stay in one place)

Tracking When Your Phone Is Off

It should also be mentioned that when you turn your phone off completely, this does halt all possible communications, and even if someone went to great lengths to track your location, they’d only be able to trace you up to the point you turned your phone off. Of course, going about without a phone raises several safety concerns in and of itself, so this wouldn’t make a lot of sense.

Nevertheless, the next few sections will have you covered in terms of how to best protect yourself in case your device gets compromised.

Finding a Phone’s Location When It’s Off

If you’ve lost your phone, here’s how to find it. You may also use your IP address to find your lost phone.

iPhone

For iPhone, you can simply use the Find My app which should be installed by default, or by signing into iCloud from a different device to use the same feature. You’ll need to sign in via your Apple ID to use these features, but you’ll then be able to pinpoint the last known location of your phone.

Android

If you use Android, you can use the Find My Device app (again, a default for an Android device) or by signing into your Google account via the website. Similarly to the iPhone, you’ll be able to use these features to find out where your phone was when it lost power.

Keeping Your Location Private

• Turn off Locations Services When They’re Not Needed: You can do so in your main privacy settings on both iPhone and Android.
• Ensure your phone is up to date: When you’re offered updates, take them – these often come with important security updates designed to keep you safe.
• Avoid public Wi-Fi: Something like a Cafe hotspot can often offer only very weak security, leaving you wide open for potential hackers to gain access to your information. Use the incognito mode in your web browser to safeguard your privacy.
• Use a VPN: Short for Virtual Private Network, this software works by encrypting your connection and routing it through secure servers: this effectively masks your online activity as non-identifiable (many subscription services for phones exist on the market for this purpose).
• Only download apps from the official stores: anything else is unverified by Apple or Google.
• Check permissions regularly: Don’t simply allow all apps to check your track your location automatically – make sure you intentionally allow them to.

Signs Your Phone Is Being Tracked

If you are being tracked, here are some signs:

• Increased Battery Drainage: Software employed by a hacker often drains your battery faster than usual.
• Suspicious apps: Any strange apps that randomly appear on your device are a clear sign something is wrong.
• Overheating: Again, a hacker’s software can add excess strain to your phone’s capacity and cause it to overheat.
• Random Restarts: If your phone starts randomly restarting when there’s no technical fault, this could be a sign it’s been compromised.

Detecting and Removing Spyware

Your first port of call for detecting and removing spyware is to run an antivirus scan from a reputable brand. This will allow you to detect and neutralize a threat (here are some solid choices for both iPhone and Android).

From there, change any passwords on your most frequented apps once you’re confident the antivirus software has done its job. If you’re still concerned, back up your data and factory reset your device.