How to Track a Phone Number

If you’re receiving calls from numbers you don’t recognize, or you just want to know where your friends or family are, tracking a phone number can be a helpful solution.

But how do you do this and is it even legal? Here’s a quick guide on how to track a phone number.

Why would you want to track a phone number?

As mentioned above, there can be fairly simple reasons for wanting to track a number. Most often, it might be knowing where your children are when they’re out and about, a loved one is heading home in the evening, or when you’re trying to meet a friend in town but aren’t sure where the other person is located.

There are other reasons, for example when you receive calls from unrecognized numbers and want to check their validity or, in the worst case, you receive nuisance calls and want to track down the originator.

Now, it’s worth noting that this isn’t like in the movies where you can trace calls to their precise location if you keep them on the line long enough. This is the kind of technology only law enforcement has. Usually, you’ll need permission from the other person if you want to track their movements (for example, using Apple’s Find My Friends feature).

You can check where a number is registered, which can be useful if you get calls you don’t want, but the information is a bit basic.

If you see online services offering to track phones live or look up information about the number holder, there’s a good chance it’s fake or even a scam.

Instead, if you are the victim of continuous harassment calls, it is best to take the matter to the police. In the UK you can contact the police hotline if you experience harassment or stalking, and similar services will be available in other countries.

How to Track an Unknown or Unknown Phone Number

If you’re receiving calls from a number and want to check if it’s legitimate (for example, if they’re calling to represent a company offering an amazing deal), there are a few quick options that might help.

The first is to simply copy the number and then Google it. This will often give you a basic overview of the person in whose name the number is registered. If a business is legitimate, then you should see their business listing with the number included.

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

For a more in-depth approach, there are free sites like WhoCalledMe, known as reverse phone lookup services, that can attempt to unmask unknown callers so you know who is ringing.

The site says it can potentially provide you with “details such as caller ID, location, GST compliance, network operator, mobile network provider, and user-generated reports regarding the number “.

You can also download a WhoCalledMe app called “Wotcha” for Android or iOS if you want to use real-time features to monitor incoming calls.

How to Track a Phone Number on iPhone

Keeping tabs on family friends can be helpful in a number of situations. Fortunately, this is easy to do with the Find My feature that Apple has built into iOS, macOS, and iPadOS for several years now.

This simple app allows you to see the current location of devices that have been shared on the service by your friends and family. It tracks them in real time so you can track their progress. It’s also useful if you lost your iPhone, iPad or Mac and want to find it.

Apple’s Find My network also lets you track devices by communicating anonymously with other iPhones that have the service enabled. This also makes it compatible with Apple’s AirTag accessories.

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

You can learn more about the service and how it works in our Apple Find My explainer.

How to Track a Phone Number on Android

Just like Apple, Google offers a similar location and tracking service for Android users.

It is known as Find My Device and can be used to track smartphones, tablets and laptops linked to your Google account or a trusted contact.

A revamped version also lets you track items by communicating anonymously with any nearby devices that have the service enabled. This is in line with what Apple offers and will be compatible with trackers in the future.

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

You can learn more about the new service in our Google Find My Device explainer.

Another built-in solution is to ask your friend to share their location via Google Maps.

This basically allows them to drop a pin into the app, share it with you, and then both phones will track each other live (for a specified amount of time) so you know where you both are. This is a great solution if you find yourself in an unfamiliar place and want to find yourself quickly.

To get started, read our guide on how to share your location on Android using Google Maps.

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