Tracking GPS Location using Smartphone

In this article we will cover some legal and technical issues related to GPS Tracking using smartphones and smart watches.

Can smartphone or tablet be tracked on-line ?

Tracking of a device connected to the Internet and using a mobile phone base station (BTS) is of course possible.

When the device additionally has GPS, its tracking is possible with great accuracy and almost is real time with remote supervision.

Excluding the legal and moral issues of this theme – in cooperation with SpySat.eu wvhich is the best free real time gps tracker we have prepared a list of devices popular manufacturers and technical tips.

If you are an owner of Samsung phone for example Samsung Galaxy S10, you may be interesed in Samsung S10 real time tracker.

For other manufactures we have also prepared some great tips and solutions with the phone tracking by number or GPS.

Is it legal to collect and process anonymous GPS tracking data without user knowledge?

Can the mobile operator track my location without my knowledge?

Basically yes, all mobile operators have contracts with local authorities that require them to collect and store some data about mobile phone users when they connect to a mobile tower.

However, these local authorities don’t have the authority to the mobile operator to share this data.

As you are sitting in an office building, an incoming mobile calls you and you have to call an operator in order to activate your device, and the operator doesn’t get paid.

If this was an ongoing contract in which you had to pay for data usage, you wouldn’t have to pay anything for your data and there wouldn’t be the problem of the network being able to determine the exact point where you’re at.

How can I know whether this will affect me? First of all, there isn’t a legal requirement to keep any data. This is a very basic concept but if mobile operators aren’t going to be held responsible for this in most cases, you should have your concerns taken care of.

But, there are different ways that this data could affect you:

The data can get collected by other mobile operators, for example, an online retailer could track whether there are a certain number of customers using a site (such as shopping or entertainment). This could be a significant annoyance for you.

When an SMS is sent to you, it may start collecting data in your SMS message, even if it isn’t your text message. The same holds true if you receive an SMS from your online service provider (e.g. from a text message). You cannot stop the provider from sending data without paying an extra bill.

If you are using Wi-Fi to send/receive text messages then data can get collected on these devices too and these could become a problem

What should be done in these situations when your mobile phone is located in an area where data collection is taking place? Here are some things to consider:

If the network has data about people, but the user only has an SMS, this can also affect the user’s privacy and security;

How you are getting data could affect how the data is used

For example, mobile operators can use data for location services (e.g. to send location updates in case you are driving to a location but you have turned off your location setting on the mobile phone and are still in town where you are located).

Some services allow you to set up your mobile phone as a private network with certain apps like Google Maps, and other mobile operators may be able to collect information on you from the services you use, even if you are not using one of those services

You may not be able to get rid of your mobile phone if it becomes a public network with all mobile data sharing

What if I have a choice between using mobile data at my own convenience to do certain things or have it collected by third parties?

If I do a lot of online shopping then my mobile phone can track me while I am online, or it can track me with the help of third party apps for example, if I go online to check the prices of things online or to download a music or movie.

How many people are using a mobile network?

Data about people who use mobile phones on a daily basis or more often than not, the more you use one, the higher is the chance that your device will collect and store information about you for use in future. Mobile usage data can help mobile operators collect information about users and how they are using the network.

The more people who are using mobile phones, the more likely it is that data will be gathered about them.

The more data, the more people who can benefit. It can be very helpful for a mobile operator to collect data from users who are a small minority, as this would provide the information required to better target ads, improve the experience, and improve usage performance.

How to protect my privacy against tracking by smartphone?

If you are concerned about your privacy and you what to disable GPS Tracking in your mobile phone by the cell phone carrier you should do the following things:

1. Make sure that your SIM card or any other USB drive with the phone has the option of being erased by the handset maker. If you do not this option will have no effect on your cell phone.
2. Download and install the GPS application from your device manufacturer(see below) This allows you to use the app without touching the phone again.
3. Once it is installed on your device you want to activate using your SIM card. GPS is enabled by default when using any application. If your cellular provider will not allow you to get the GPS application installed on your device they should remove this option.
   If your cellular provider will not allow you to get the GPS application installed on your device then you should disable it.
   If you cannot disable GPS without removing it you should also turn it off in the settings.
4. Go to Settings>General>Data Management>Device Information
5. In the Data Management section, tap on the checkbox ‘Use device for data storage’.
6. Go back up the section where you last enabled the data management option and click on the delete button again.
7. In the Data Management section, tap on the checkbox ‘Use device solely to send and receive data’, in the Advanced sections select ‘Do not use device for data storage’. Note: If this is the last field you set you need to make sure you have the following settings disabled when you go back: “Disable all device activity: Do not allow all device notifications to trigger” This should disable the device and should also disable the cell phone data tracking feature. This option should be turned off and the cell phone activity should trigger again.
8. If any of your phone’s apps are using the cell phone data tracking, disable it if the tracking activity is active on your phone.
9. Do not allow all cell phones or SIM cards to transmit the cell phone data tracking data.
   If any of your cell phone’s apps are using the cell phone data tracking, disable it if the tracking activity is active on your phone.
   If any of your cell phone’s apps are using the cell phone data tracking, disable it if the tracking activity is active on your phone.
10. If the tracking is active on your phone tap on the checkbox ‘Disable cellular tracking or GPS’ and click on the next button.
11. Click on ‘Done’
    The next screen should tell you that cellular network tracking has been disabled.
    The next screen you’ll see will be similar to the below screen.
12. After you have clicked on the ‘Done’ button you should have another screen telling you that you have completed the installation.

This guide above covers the following topics: Disable cellular tracking, GPS/Fingerprint Tracking, Cellphone Tracking.