Feeling insecure is one of the bad experiences we will all want to have. I know of a colleague who unfortunately got his phone tracked by someone we suspected to be close to her.
This unscrupulous person accessed the WhatsApp messages of my friend. Thankfully there was no sensitive information to be carried away.
I remember the frustration my good friend went through and that gave me the motivation to write this article to help thousands and millions out there who are facing a similar problem. Location technology in mobile phones has been helpful.
If you want to locate a restaurant, bank, supermarket, and what have you, this technology makes it easier to find these places.
The following are the five uses of GPS to know;
- Location – Determining a position.
- Navigation – Getting from one location to another.
- Tracking – Monitoring objects or personal movement.
- Mapping – Creating maps of the world.
- Timing – Making it possible to take precise time measurements.
If we are to go by the five uses indicated above, there are no arguments that GPS has not been helpful.
Despite its intended good use, some people are using GPS illegally. People are using it to track the devices of others for reasons best known to them. Not to be too fixated on the bad side, GPS has other good uses.
Some specific good examples of GPS use cases include:
Emergency Response: During an emergency or natural disaster, first responders use GPS for mapping, following and predicting weather, and keeping track of emergency personnel.
Entertainment: GPS can be incorporated into games and activities like Pokémon Go and Geocaching.
Health and fitness: Smartwatches and wearable technology can track fitness activity (such as running distance) and benchmark it against a similar demographic.
Construction, mining, and off-road trucking: From locating equipment to measuring and improving asset allocation, GPS enables companies to increase returns on their assets. Check out our posts on construction vehicle tracking and off-road equipment tracking.
Transportation: Logistics companies implement telematics systems to improve driver productivity and safety. A truck tracker can be used to support route optimization, fuel efficiency, driver safety, and compliance.
How To Stop Someone From Tracking Your Phone
Open Settings, then scroll down and tap Location. To stop all tracking, you can toggle Use location off.
The following are the 10 suggested ways to stop someone from tracking your phone.
- Disable location services
- Scan for and remove spyware
- Use a private browser
- Turn on airplane mode
- Remove unfamiliar apps
- Protect your Google account
- Use a VPN
- Turn off your phone
- Avoid public Wi-Fi that isn’t password protected
- Disable location tracking on social media apps
Can Someone Track My Phone Without My Permission?
Whether you use an iPhone or an Android smartphone, someone can install spyware onto your phone that secretly tracks and reports your activity without your permission. It’s even possible for someone to monitor your cell phone’s activity without ever even touching it.
Before we delve into these 10 points stated above, let’s look at some of the indicators that you are been tracked.
How Do You Know If Your Phone Is Being Tracked?
There are some indicators to prove that someone is tracking your phone. Below are some red flags that should quickly get your attention;
Social network like WhatsApp web shows activities you have no idea of.
One indication that someone is using tracking your phone is the recent WhatsApp web activity you have no idea of. If you find out that there are recent activities on WhatsApp web, that’s a good sign that someone is tracking and using your account.
Hikes in temperature.
If your phone becomes too hot to touch, that’s also a sign that there are applications that work in the background of the phone. If your phone becomes too hot, find out if apps are running in the background you have no idea.
Quick draining battery.
If your device’s battery drains without a lot of apps running in the background there is a chance that someone is monitoring your phone with an app working in the background. If your phone inexplicably needs to be charged far more often all of a sudden, maybe some spyware is running on the device in the background.
You may also begin to notice unusual background noise or feedback during your calls.
This can often be a sign that someone is recording your calls. If your WhatsApp has been hacked remotely, your calls are almost certainly being tracked and recorded.
How To Stop Someone From Tracking Your Phone [Complete Guide]
The following are the 10 suggested ways explained to help you stop someone from tracking your phone.
1. Disable location tracking on social media apps
As I said earlier, we are victims of allowing permissions we have not read through well. Most social media apps request access to your locations. Make sure to disable location tracking on your social media accounts.
You can achieve this by disabling location sharing for social media apps in your phone’s settings. If you use Facebook or Snapchat, you can also disable location tracking or limit who can see your location by going directly into the app settings.
This won’t stop the app from storing your location data entirely, but it will make it more difficult for other users to access it.
2. Disable location services
One of the first things you will want to do is disable your location when you suspect that someone is tracking your phone. All of us are victims of clicking on “Allow”, and permitting mobile applications to access services including our location without giving a second thought.
Black hat developers or hackers take advantage of this feature to access and track our devices for their needs. Some use this data for marketing purposes or to learn about internet usage history to serve ads.
To disable location services on Apple and Android phones, follow these steps:
Android
- Open your phone’s settings
- Scroll down and click on Location
- Switch the location services slider to Off
Apple
- Open your phone’s settings
- Click on Privacy
- Click on Location Service
- Turn off location sharing
3. Use a private browser
People tend to use private browsing to protect their data or browsing activity from other users of their devices. Private browsing is also an easy way to log out of websites when using someone else’s device-provided you close the browser window at the end of your browsing session.
You can use Google Chrome’s incognito browser. None of your browsing history, cookies and site data, or information entered in forms are saved on your device.
This means your activity doesn’t show up in your Chrome browser history, so people who also use your device won’t see your activity.
4. Turn on airplane mode
Turning your phone to airplane mode will disconnect your device from all cellular networks and prevent people from accessing your location.
This option is a bit polarising because as it prevents people from accessing your phone, you are not able to use important features like accessing the internet, making calls, or sending SMS whilst the phone is in airplane mode.
5. Remove unfamiliar apps
Removing unfamiliar apps installed on your mobile device is one of the ways to stop someone from monitoring your phone. Make sure that you delete mobile applications you have not been using.
If you fail to update an app on your device, it becomes susceptible for black hackers to use to track your activities. The solution is to make sure that all your applications are updated or just delete the apps you are no more using.
6. Protect your Google account
You can protect your Google account with 2-step verification. It immediately neutralizes the risks associated with compromised passwords.
If a password is hacked, guessed, or even phished, that’s no longer enough to give an intruder access: without approval at the second factor, a password alone is useless.
Google also has a feature that allows you to track all of your previous movements even when you are not running a Google application. This is useful if you want to see where you’ve been or remember how to get somewhere, but it also leaves you vulnerable if your Google account is hacked.
Remember to update your password and privacy settings regularly to keep your Google account secure and your location information safe from attackers. In your phone’s settings, you can also disable Google location tracking and delete your movement history.
7. Use a VPN
Using a virtual private network is one of the effective ways to prevent attackers from accessing your device’s IP address and knowing your location.
A VPN provides an encrypted server and hides your IP address from corporations, government agencies, and would-be hackers. A VPN protects your identity even if you are using public or shared Wi-Fi, and your data will be kept private from any prying internet eyes.
The Use of a VPN will simply prevent attackers from accessing your location and subsequently attacking you.
8. Turn off your phone
Turning off your phone is another holy grail of stopping someone from accessing your device. Once the phone is off, the internet is disabled making it impossible for someone to track you.
This is a temporal solution to the problem. We normally advise when you have less time to disable all these apps containing malware. Once you put the phone back on, you would have to disable these apps and use some of our recommended solutions.
9. Avoid public Wi-Fi that isn’t password protected
The best possible way to stop and prevent device hacking is to avoid public Wi-Fi. Public Wi-Fi tends to expose your identity and permit administrators access to key information.
The best advice we will give here is to make sure you don’t fall into the trap of making Wi-Fi publicly accessible without passwords in exchange for your details.
10. Scan for and remove spyware
Use an antivirus app on your phone to protect any spyware on your phone. There are a lot of good antivirus apps you can download on the Google Play store or iOS. These apps help you fight any viruses that would have been downloaded on your phone.
The following are some antivirus apps are recommended for you;
- Bitdefender Mobile Security
- Norton Mobile Security
- Avast Mobile Security
- Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus
- Lookout Security & Antivirus
FAQs
The following are some frequently asked questions about stopping someone from monitoring your phone.
What Happens When You Dial *# 62#?
*#62# – With this, you can know if any of your calls – voice, data, fax, SMS, etc, has been forwarded or diverted without your knowledge.
Can Someone Track My Phone By Texting Me?
Yes, someone can track your phone by texting you. Few people know, however, that phones can be tracked using little more than a text message.
A Short Message Type 0, also known as a silent SMS, is used for this purpose, and these have been around for years.
What Does * 77 Do On Your Phone?
Anonymous Call Rejection (*77) stops calls from people that use a blocking feature to keep their name or number from being displayed. When Anonymous Call Rejection is turned on, callers will hear a message telling them to hang up, turn off the blocking feature, and call again.
Can Someone Track Where You Are By Your Cell Phone?
In some cases, deceitful third parties can use your phone’s GPS tracking to keep tabs on your location data. They could also sell that data to advertising companies looking to turn a profit on your personal information.
How Do I Block My iPhone From Being Tracked?
Turn off location settings on Apple Devices
The steps are below:
- Click “Settings.”
- Go to “Privacy.”
- Select “Location Services.”
- Scroll down to “System Services.”
- Choose “Significant Locations” to see the logged record of where you’ve been and toggle it off.
Can You Deactivate A Tracker?
Yes, you can deactivate a tracker. Once a GPS tracking device is located, it can be disabled. Beyond simply removing the battery, it is possible to stop the GPS signal.
It’s important to remove the device completely and dispose of it so it does not continue transmitting to your location.
Stop your phone from being tracked with these settings
This video below will help you stop whoever is tracking you by applying these settings on your phone right now;
Conclusion
If you have followed this guide very well, I am pretty sure you have successfully been able to know whether someone is tracking your phone and has taken measures to stop that. If you still have challenges, kindly let us know your questions via the comment section.
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