Can apps track your location if location services are turned off or if your phone is powered off?
Great question, and a huge concern among mobile phone owners who are concerned about privacy. I'm using Android as my example because I'm an Android developer and know very little about Apple's IOS.As somebody already correctly stated, if your device is truly powered off then the answer is no — user or system applications cannot track your location. The exception to this rule is, that if you have a device with a non-removable battery, AND the device is configured by the OEM or the user to be trackable with the power off, then the possibility of the device being tracked exists.The same rule applies to location based services in Android. If all location based services are expressly disabled, the device cannot be located by an app. But once again, if you own an Android device preconfigured for such security measures, disabled location services can be overridden by the Android system and the location of the device can be determined. (Generally speaking, such preconfigured apps are considered Device Administrators under Settings>Security.)
If you turn location service off on your cellphone, can you still be located?
Yes, you can still be located.For one, "location service" refers to -your phone- knowing where it is (by listening to radio signals from the GPS satellites, and additionally detecting nearby WiFi stations and cell tower signals and checking their IDs against location databases). It has nothing to do with whether anybody else knows where your phone is. So, turning off location services just means your phone can't locate where it is. Nothing else.Two, when your phone is operating normally, it is constantly in contact with nearby cell towers. (The cell towers keep records of each time a cell phone pings them, too). So while the cell company doesn't know your precise location, it does know your approximate location, based on which cell tower the phone checked in with.Even if you turn off cellular services (or put the phone in airplane mode) it's still not a 100% guarantee that it won't be located -- there can be back doors installed in the phone's operating system, or you can have spyware on it, etc.The only way to guarantee that your phone will not be located is to let its battery run down (or to remove the battery, if you're able). Or, you know. Don't take it with you. (As a far-out solution, you can put your phone in a Faraday cage. You can build or buy an appropriate cage (search for 'cell phone faraday cage').
How does Instagram know my location when I have turned off my location in privacy settings? I still see adverts for the area I live in even though all the settings in my phone have my location turned off?
As well as knowing the general area you are in through your IP address, Instagram also knows the area you used to be in.Turning off location services simply prevents websites and apps from discovering your location - if they already knew from previous activity where you were - turning location services off doesn’t erase that data.
Can I track a cellphone even if the location is turned off?
If a phone is "switched off" it is actually in a sleep or standby mode (that's how the button wakes it up) so it is not actually offBetter would be airplane mode with radio turned off. The the obvious answer is "no radio = no trace"But it is conceivably there are "trap doors" or "spyware" that could still record voices and transmit location if required.This wouldn't be a normal thing; it wouldn't be obvious - but only a fool would say NSA & GCHQ can't do it.People who scared of being monitored will take the battery out of their phone (tricky with iPHONE... make sure it is very, very flat) and then put it in the fridge.And then go somewhere else, leaving it there.
How to turn off verizon family locator?
I don't want my parents tracking my phone 24/7 and I have my location services, gps, bluetooth, and wifi off but i still get text notification saying "family member 789******** requested your locattion at 1:46 PM central time", does this mean they can still track me even with everything off? btw I have the iphone 5
How do I turn off the location tracking on Life360 without notifying the Circles?
From what I have read, it is impossible to do this. Once you shut off the location tracking your circle will know and they will know where you are when you do it. So I guess if you’re going to do it, do it at home before you leave. You also have to shut off the location tracking one circle at a time. For example - if you have 3 circles, then if you shut off the tracking for one, then the other two circles will still know where you are.Here is a screenshot with detailed instructions how to shut off the GPS tracking. As you can see in the instructions, once you shut the tracking off, you will appear as a “pause” button showing everyone that you have indeed shut it off.
Does sharing my location still work if my phone is turned off?
People mean a number of things by "turned off" when it comes to phones. It really means when you power down your phone completely. (Even remove the battery for a phone where that's possible.) If you do that, then no. Location sharing doesn't work.It won't work because the CPU (the computer part) is turned off and is not processing locations from the GPS. The GPS is also turned off. And the radios used to talk to the cell network or wifi are turned off too, so no sharing can happen.If by "turned off" you mean the screen is just off. Well no. The CPU, GPS, and other radios are still on. Location sharing works. And, in this case, you're using "turned off" really incorrectly too!
Does Google track your phone even if you have location turned off?
It´s almost impossible to use any phone, not using anything that don´t reveal Your position within some feet. Just making a call is like pointing where You are. Any phone will search for the nearest celltower revealing it´s position. They actually use this when a person goes missing. They can pretty accurately timestamp the route the person made.Location is just one method of tracing. You can actually trace a phone, with the power off. As long as the phone has any power on the battery, it can be remotely accessed. Intelligence services has that option. Hardly an option to mere mortals. The answer is yes!