My advice to you all is always to trust your instincts. If you have a suspicion that someone’s been watching you, perhaps it’s not just paranoia – rather a genuine concern. The ability to follow vehicles, smartphones, or individuals is now rising than ever before, thanks to geolocation technologies.
In fact, using a GPS tracker to locate a target is a thing of the past. As long as they have the victim’s contact details, the perpetrator can do everything they want. Indeed, it’s a godsend for cybercriminals, spiteful spouses, or inquisitive employers. So the question is how to detect GPS tracker on cell phone?
Fortunately, there are several ways to prevent people from compromising personal information and data security. Let’s look at the most critical factors associated with GPS trackers.
Hackers’ GPS Tracking Tactics
In this segment, we’ll take a closer look at a few of the many techniques hackers use to monitor a victim’s whereabouts using their mobile phone’s GPS.
Smartphone GPS Tracking Applications
As the name suggests, this approach uses the infamous smartphone tracking applications. Most of these applications target parents who wish to keep tabs on their children’s location. You can also find jealous lovers actively seeking out such apps.
Despite aiming these notorious applications at parents and ‘over-protective’ sweethearts, most of us are well aware that the frequent usage of these apps is more common among hackers to monitor their victims.
In a nutshell, this approach is appealing towards families, co, and others since it is a reasonably simple method for tracking someone’s geolocation position — needing nothing except for downloading an app, generally from the google play store or app store.
Tracking Location Using Legal Applications Without Permission
Since everyone can see everything you do and everything you photograph, do you worry if others keep an eye on you? Over a handful of smartphone apps enable others to snoop on you without your knowledge, and there are many more apps that need your permission to use different tracking abilities.
Unfortunately, apps that are supposed to keep your location private may be tricked into disclosing it to a third party. For example, services including Google Maps or Apple’s Find My enable you to share the position of your smartphone with another individual.
If the criminal has access to the victim’s cellphone for a brief period, this process is easy to establish.
Locator-Aware Applications that Nesseciates Usage of Location Data
Most applications that track your whereabouts do so for valid purposes. Our GPS information is likely the most private, thoughtless personal selfies excluded within the vast cornucopia of information our smartphones have on us.
More than anything, having an anonymous organization watching our every step is a terrifying thought on its own. Specific applications need access to your geolocation when it comes to basic tasks. At the same time, other apps seek this authorization apparently without any justification.
While it’s excellent practice to verify smartphone apps that have the consent to utilize your geolocation, you can never tell whether someone monitoring your location data is misusing the app.
If anything, cancellation of location permission is simple and may be done by visiting the App Store and searching for the app you want to remove.
Google Timeline & Significant Locations
Some of the most underutilized functions in mobile operating systems—iOS and Android—automatically record and plot your most frequently visited destinations on a map.
Both phone systems have this function integrated within, but you have full power to disable it if you don’t want it. Additionally, navigation operations such as traffic routing are one of the roles that these functionalities are aimed to enhance.
Nevertheless, if anybody manages to get their hands on your smartphone or obtain access to your Gmail account, they might exploit these features to view the log of your GPS position.
EXIF Data on Images
Metadata or EXIF is data you can extract from digital images, but most people aren’t aware they have it on their camera roll. In addition to information about the gadget, this also contains information on the shot itself, including the timestamp, date, and position.
With frequent photo sharing, you may unwittingly reveal the place where these images are from to your friends and acquaintances. And this phenomenon may risk your privacy more than anything.
As it happens, the EXIF data travels with the photo; in fact, you may find your data posted on the social media platform.
Subsequently, uploading a picture involves more than simply the pixels visible to the naked eye. Many people are unaware of the existence of EXIF data, which is tucked away in the metadata of digital photographs.
Malware: Spyware
As a more severe kind of hacking, spyware is a type of malware often used to collect private data on individuals. Most hackers successfully carry out their crimes by using third-party software to monitor and gather data on a person’s device, particularly their geolocation.
In addition to sending GPS information back to a hacker, companies like mSpy and FlexiSpy may also gather a plethora of other details, including texts and emails, browsing history, and internet banking credentials.
Aside from the fact that these applications may be entirely concealed from the victim, they cost as low as $30 a month and are absolutely undetectable.
Hackers’ GPS Tracking Tactics: How to Detect?
Now that we’ve discussed the approaches and practices, let’s move on to how you may tell whether this is occurring to you.
How to Detect GPS Tracking Applications?
Simply said, detecting GPS tracking apps is a relatively straightforward process. A simple search of your phone will reveal any unfamiliar applications that may lurk in the background.
Look everywhere since these programs can easily stay hidden in the app directories. Just like any other application, if you discover one, remove it. Conversely, you may use anti-spyware software to check your devices and guarantee no dangerous tracking programs thoroughly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can you tell whether an app that tracks the GPS position is being abused?
You can see whether one of these GPS applications has location sharing enabled by doing the following.
How to turn off GPS tracking in Google Maps?
To begin, launch the Google Maps application on your smartphone. After that, click on the account symbol in the upper right corner. Then choose location sharing from the drop-down menu. As the last step, delete all of your location-sharing accounts.
How to remove your geolocation from Find iPhone app?
It’s an effortless procedure. First, launch the Find My iPhone app on your smartphone. Merely tap me on your interface. Afterward, disable the sharing of your location.
How can you tell whether an app has access to your GPS?
Before anything, you need to use excellent anti-spyware for both IOS and Android to automatically identify which applications are monitoring your whereabouts and remove the privilege if necessary.
IOS
And to see which applications on your iPhone may access your geolocation, select settings from the menu. Next, go to privacy and then location services. You can check and alter the permissions for each app by scrolling through the applications on your IOS device.
Android
Instead of going to the privacy setting, you can access the apps folder in an android smartphone. Following that, you will notice each app featuring the ‘app permissions’ option. Disable location services for any applications you no longer need by going through them in your Android app drawer.
How to deal with EXIF data?
- IOS
When sending images over texts, SMS, or email, iPhone users will notice a straightforward choice to switch off location tracking. You will find the ‘Option’ feature hovering over your interface while sharing images through the photo application.
Following that, you’ll find various options here, particularly your location. Most importantly, when sharing a picture, just press the location slider to remove the GPS information.
- Android
Sad to say, Android does not make it nearly as simple to omit GPS details from uploaded images as it does with Apple devices. You may, however, use WhatsApp, which will instantly erase the information from any photograph transmitted if you’re worried about privacy.
How can you tell whether your phone is infected with spyware?
You’ll need cybersecurity software that can check your phone for evidence of hacking to find this type of malware. You will discover several anti-spyware options available but make sure to get one that offers proper safety and receives favorable reviews.
Final Word
This article is to help anyone concerned about GPS monitoring on their mobile phones. At least, that’s what we are hoping for. The ease with which someone might use your cellphone against you is both alarming and unsettling at the same time.
So now that you have the solution to how to detect GPS tracker on cell phone, we hope you will retain your privacy and stay safe.
