People who live with other people and interact with them sooner or later may find themselves in a situation where they urgently need to know where their friend or relative is.

You may say there are phone tracking apps that can share GPS location with you, but they require some prior preparation – installation on the target device. What do you do if you haven’t got to this step yet?

What Technology Lays Behind Online Number Trackers?

We will shock you now – there is no technical solution to track a phone number in the literal sense! It is linked to the SIM card, which is a piece of paper with a cell network chip. This chip is used to send and receive a cell network, and it is impossible to share the location information. However, there are still services that cope with this task. How?

In fact, they use the ordinary GPS tracking method, the same as mobile phone spies. If, in the case of the letter, the phone tracking app sends a request to share the GPS location, phone number trackers simply send a message with the tracking link. If a person taps on it, they will share their location with the sender.

There are also some standard applications available on almost every phone that will share the device’s location totally for free:

  • Google Maps;
  • Find My Device;
  • Find My;
  • iCloud.

Although all these applications were originally designed with different aims, all of them can be used to locate a person, you may just have never thought about it.

An Overview of Free Phone Number Trackers

If you need to track a cell phone number – take a look at these solutions carefully, consider all their advantages and disadvantages, and choose the one that fits you best.

GEOfinder.mobi

The top-ranked phone number tracker is GEOfinder by the British Ersten Group. It is a service operating only via its website, which is very intuitive: there is a search field in the middle of the page, where you must type in the phone number of your interest.

GEOfinder generates a link, which is something like a software tracker. Upon tapping on it, a person will be asked if they really want to share their GPS location, and if they agree – you will see where they are.

This link is sent via an SMS, and you must add some text to be sent with it; this text must either explain what this link is or persuade the recipient to open it without explanation. Moreover, in addition to the location tracking, GEOfinder can:

  • check what WiFi the phone is connected to;
  • check whether the owner uses a VPN;
  • see services of which carrier they prefer.

Although GEOfinder is not free, there is a trial version that allows for only $1 to try the service for 2 days. Ask the support agent how to activate it, as this treat is not mentioned anywhere on the website.

LocationTracker.mobi

LocationTracker.mobi is another way to track a cell phone by number using a website. It uses the most recent GPS protocols to ensure you get the most precise location possible. To help GPS, the service also uses WiFi data to double-check the tracking results and adjust them as needed.

Considering it tracks the phone number in real-time, it is a great tracker if you urgently need to find someone in case of an emergency or for any other reason.

The idea is common for web services of this type – you enter the phone number you want to track and get a spy link generated. You must add a picture to it and send it via any messenger, be it WhatsApp, SMS, Facetime, etc.

Google Maps

Should you need to track phone location by number for free, Google Maps is your first choice. The procedure is very simple:

  • launch Google Maps on the device you want to track;
  • find Location Sharing on the menu and tap on Add People (this feature may not be available in some countries);
  • you will get a location-sharing link – send it to your device;
  • you can open this link on your device at any time and check the person’s location.

Find My Apps

Modern devices usually have the Find My app or its analog pre-installed. Although initially they aim to find a lost or stolen phone, they can also be used to track phone number locations for free.

The device you want to track must either use the same Google/iCloud credentials or be in the family group. In this case, when you launch the app, you will see its location on the map.

Conclusion

GEOfinder.mobi and LocationTracker.mobi are great phone trackers by number, but both only have a free demo, and a couple of days after activating it, you must pay for the full versions. Those who do not want to do it have an alternative: Google Maps and Find My apps.

Although both have some limitations and are not anonymous, they can be useful trackers if the device is in the same family group as yours or if you share the credentials. We recommend you try all of them first and make your well-weighted decision only after this.

Richard is an experienced tech journalist and blogger who is passionate about new and emerging technologies. He provides insightful and engaging content for Connection Cafe and is committed to staying up-to-date on the latest trends and developments.