There may be various reasons why you might want to track a cell phone location — you may want to protect your new device in the case of a lost phone or ensure that your children or your family members are safe at all times. Regardless, here are some ways you can track a cell phone for free on both iPhone and Android.
How to track a cell phone location for free on iPhone
1. Find my iPhone
Find my iPhone is an app provided by Apple that allows you to check the location of your device, using your iCloud account. With the Find My app, you can also check the location of all your Apple devices, including your AirPods, iPad, MacBook, and more.
Tracking your cell phone location with Find my is easy. Visit the apple find my page, log into your iCloud account.
Find My is only available on Apple devices, which means that you will not be able to use it with an Android. Moreover, you can only check the location of devices that are logged into your iCloud account. This would mean that you won’t be able to check anyone else’s location but your own.
How to track cell phone location for free on Android
2. Find my device
Find My Device is Android’s answer to the “Find My” app of Apple. For any Android device that is logged into your Google account, Find My Device will locate for you. Find My Device also offers similar features like pinging the phone or locking it, just like the Find My app on Apple.
Similar to how “Find My” is only compatible with Apple devices, Find my device is only available for Android devices. You can only check the location of devices that are logged into your Google account, meaning that you can only check your own devices and not your friends’.
How to track cell phone location for free on iPhone and on Android:
3. iSharing
iSharing is a free location sharing app created to track a cell phone location between family members and close friends. iSharing allows 24/7 location sharing between two devices, whether they are Apple or Android smartphones.
With iSharing, all you need to do is download the app and then add the friend. Once they agree to add you as a friend, you’ll be able to see their location and vice versa! You can also always change your privacy settings if you’d like to start hiding your location.
iSharing also offers many other features, such as instant in-app messages or alarms for when your friend arrives at home or leaves for work. iSharing even lets you view the location history for up to 30 days.
iSharing is available for free on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
4. Google Maps
Google Maps also allows you to share the location of your device easily with any of your contacts. Whoever wants to share their location can enter the Google maps app, click on their profile on the top right, and then go to “location sharing” and initiate sharing their location with whoever they want.
Tracking a cell phone location for free with Google Maps is available on any device that has Google Maps.
However, the person whose location is being shared needs to initiate the tracking, and they can limit it to an hour. Furthermore, they do not offer any additional functions, such as messaging or alerts.
5. Facebook Messenger
Just like Google Maps, you can also use your Facebook Messenger to share your location with your friends, regardless of whether you’re using an iPhone or an Android.
Sharing your location using Facebook Messenger looks a little different for iPhones vs. Androids, but is very simple to do from the conversation you are already having with your friend on the app.
Similar to Google Maps, Facebook Messenger is limited in that one friend needs to initiate location sharing. Facebook Messenger also limits the time for sharing your location to up to an hour, which means that you will need to renew it every hour, in the case you would like to share your location. Being a messenger app, it is easy for you to message a friend, but other features, such as alerts or location history is unavailable.
