by Axel Rondon
To calculate the location of a smartphone, the geodata transfer function must be active on it. But what if it is turned off? Can someone track the smartphone in this case?
Nowadays, anyone can be tracked. And this thought is scary: every step you take can be seen by law enforcement agencies, employers, and the government. For these categories of citizens, the importance of your location is at least somewhat understandable - security and all that. But there are also people who do not need to know your location. These include various types of scammers and advertisers.
Your location is revealed by an object that is always at hand – your mobile phone. All smartphones released today are equipped with built-in location services. But what if you don’t want to share this highly personal data with anyone? Is it possible to simply turn off geolocation and no longer worry about someone finding out what city or street you are in? Now you will find out the answers to these questions.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO TRACK A PHONE WITH GEOLOCATION SERVICES TURNED OFF?
In theory, disabling geolocation should make your phone invisible to tracking services that use geodata. This is true, but only partially. There are other ways to find out the coordinates of the device.
WAYS TO TRACK A PHONE WITHOUT GPS
Disabling geolocation on your device allows you to hide your location, but only partially. Your coordinates can be obtained without GPS.
1. CELL TOWERS
They're everywhere. The first person to see your location is your mobile operator. They can determine your phone's location on a map by the towers you connect to and the time it takes for the signal to travel between the towers and your phone. The distance calculated in this way indicates the point where the phone is located.
2. PUBLIC WI-FI NETWORKS
Not everyone can afford the desired volume of mobile Internet. The constant need for the Internet has led to the emergence of free Wi-Fi networks in public places. When an icon appears in the notification panel notifying about the presence of a public access point, the desire to connect to it is so strong that the main thing flies out of your head: public Wi-Fi networks are a reliable way to determine the location of a smartphone. Whether geolocation is enabled no longer matters.
Most free public Wi-Fi providers collect the MAC addresses of connected devices. These addresses are stored in visitor logs, from which data about your locations can be extracted later if necessary.
3. STINGRAY TRAPS
StingRay devices, known as cellular simulators, work on the principle of mobile towers. The difference is that they do not provide a network connection, but only calculate the coordinates of the devices using the network identifier IMSI.
StingRay traps are used primarily by law enforcement agencies to determine the online activity of wanted individuals. The signal from the traps is stronger than from cell towers. This causes the phone to change priorities and connect to the traps instead of legitimate towers, thus giving away its coordinates.
As with conventional radio stations, the coordinates of a phone are determined by measuring the time it takes for a signal to travel from the trap to the phone and back.
4. SPYWARE AND MALWARE
Malware can also intercept your device's location data when geolocation is disabled. Most often, tracking trackers get onto a smartphone using a Trojan program through a vulnerability in the system.
One such program, Skygofree, disguises itself as a software update that increases the speed of the Internet connection. Once on the device, Skygofree transmits the phone's coordinates to third parties, controls Wi-Fi networks, turns on audio recording, and interferes with the operation of Facebook Messenger, Skype, and WhatsApp. In total, Skygofree has more than 40 dangerous functions.
HOW TO STOP TRACKING YOUR SMARTPHONE?
There are many reasons why people worry about being located by their mobile phone activity. It's not just about privacy, it's about security.
Whatever your reason, you too can take steps to stop unnecessary surveillance.
1. TURN OFF GPS
Even with GPS turned off, there are still ways to track your location like with phone locator. However, having GPS enabled is guaranteed to give your coordinates to both your carrier and apps. If you care about your privacy, turn off GPS first. Then do everything else.
2. TURN OFF WI-FI IN PUBLIC PLACES
Most mobile phones prefer Wi-Fi networks. You may have noticed how your phone automatically switches from mobile data to an available Wi-Fi network. If the Wi-Fi function on your smartphone is active, these transitions happen quite often.
By turning off Wi-Fi, you get rid of unwanted connections to public Internet networks.
3. INSTALL ONLY VERIFIED APPLICATIONS FROM LEGAL SOURCES
By using official content stores, you reduce the risk of picking up some malware. Of course, you can infect your phone in other ways, but banning the installation of applications from third-party sources is the main security measure.
Don't forget about antivirus software. It will promptly warn you about threats coming from websites, links and downloaded files.
4. READ APP PERMISSIONS
Each app needs a certain set of permissions to function properly. Location requests should raise suspicion. This is a clear sign that the program is conducting hidden activity.
Refuse to install programs that request permissions that you consider unnecessary. If the function is so necessary, you can always find a safe analogue.
HOW TO STOP YOUR MOBILE OPERATOR FROM TRACKING YOUR PHONE'S LOCATION?
Attentive readers will have noticed that none of the above recommendations protect the phone from data collection by the carrier. There is an explanation for this.
In order for you to use mobile communications, the device must constantly maintain contact with the nearest towers. And the only way to prevent the operator from seeing your smartphone is to turn it off and remove the battery.
Only in this case can you guarantee that your mobile phone will not be tracked. Anyone who tries to determine its location will only receive the coordinates of the place where it was when it was turned off. And ideally – for complete privacy – this should not be your home address.
Nowadays, anyone can be tracked. And this thought is scary: every step you take can be seen by law enforcement agencies, employers, and the government. For these categories of citizens, the importance of your location is at least somewhat understandable - security and all that. But there are also people who do not need to know your location. These include various types of scammers and advertisers.
Your location is revealed by an object that is always at hand – your mobile phone. All smartphones released today are equipped with built-in location services. But what if you don’t want to share this highly personal data with anyone? Is it possible to simply turn off geolocation and no longer worry about someone finding out what city or street you are in? Now you will find out the answers to these questions.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO TRACK A PHONE WITH GEOLOCATION SERVICES TURNED OFF?
In theory, disabling geolocation should make your phone invisible to tracking services that use geodata. This is true, but only partially. There are other ways to find out the coordinates of the device.
WAYS TO TRACK A PHONE WITHOUT GPS
Disabling geolocation on your device allows you to hide your location, but only partially. Your coordinates can be obtained without GPS.
1. CELL TOWERS
They're everywhere. The first person to see your location is your mobile operator. They can determine your phone's location on a map by the towers you connect to and the time it takes for the signal to travel between the towers and your phone. The distance calculated in this way indicates the point where the phone is located.
2. PUBLIC WI-FI NETWORKS
Not everyone can afford the desired volume of mobile Internet. The constant need for the Internet has led to the emergence of free Wi-Fi networks in public places. When an icon appears in the notification panel notifying about the presence of a public access point, the desire to connect to it is so strong that the main thing flies out of your head: public Wi-Fi networks are a reliable way to determine the location of a smartphone. Whether geolocation is enabled no longer matters.
Most free public Wi-Fi providers collect the MAC addresses of connected devices. These addresses are stored in visitor logs, from which data about your locations can be extracted later if necessary.
3. STINGRAY TRAPS
StingRay devices, known as cellular simulators, work on the principle of mobile towers. The difference is that they do not provide a network connection, but only calculate the coordinates of the devices using the network identifier IMSI.
StingRay traps are used primarily by law enforcement agencies to determine the online activity of wanted individuals. The signal from the traps is stronger than from cell towers. This causes the phone to change priorities and connect to the traps instead of legitimate towers, thus giving away its coordinates.
As with conventional radio stations, the coordinates of a phone are determined by measuring the time it takes for a signal to travel from the trap to the phone and back.
4. SPYWARE AND MALWARE
Malware can also intercept your device's location data when geolocation is disabled. Most often, tracking trackers get onto a smartphone using a Trojan program through a vulnerability in the system.
One such program, Skygofree, disguises itself as a software update that increases the speed of the Internet connection. Once on the device, Skygofree transmits the phone's coordinates to third parties, controls Wi-Fi networks, turns on audio recording, and interferes with the operation of Facebook Messenger, Skype, and WhatsApp. In total, Skygofree has more than 40 dangerous functions.
HOW TO STOP TRACKING YOUR SMARTPHONE?
There are many reasons why people worry about being located by their mobile phone activity. It's not just about privacy, it's about security.
Whatever your reason, you too can take steps to stop unnecessary surveillance.
1. TURN OFF GPS
Even with GPS turned off, there are still ways to track your location like with phone locator. However, having GPS enabled is guaranteed to give your coordinates to both your carrier and apps. If you care about your privacy, turn off GPS first. Then do everything else.
2. TURN OFF WI-FI IN PUBLIC PLACES
Most mobile phones prefer Wi-Fi networks. You may have noticed how your phone automatically switches from mobile data to an available Wi-Fi network. If the Wi-Fi function on your smartphone is active, these transitions happen quite often.
By turning off Wi-Fi, you get rid of unwanted connections to public Internet networks.
3. INSTALL ONLY VERIFIED APPLICATIONS FROM LEGAL SOURCES
By using official content stores, you reduce the risk of picking up some malware. Of course, you can infect your phone in other ways, but banning the installation of applications from third-party sources is the main security measure.
Don't forget about antivirus software. It will promptly warn you about threats coming from websites, links and downloaded files.
4. READ APP PERMISSIONS
Each app needs a certain set of permissions to function properly. Location requests should raise suspicion. This is a clear sign that the program is conducting hidden activity.
Refuse to install programs that request permissions that you consider unnecessary. If the function is so necessary, you can always find a safe analogue.
HOW TO STOP YOUR MOBILE OPERATOR FROM TRACKING YOUR PHONE'S LOCATION?
Attentive readers will have noticed that none of the above recommendations protect the phone from data collection by the carrier. There is an explanation for this.
In order for you to use mobile communications, the device must constantly maintain contact with the nearest towers. And the only way to prevent the operator from seeing your smartphone is to turn it off and remove the battery.
Only in this case can you guarantee that your mobile phone will not be tracked. Anyone who tries to determine its location will only receive the coordinates of the place where it was when it was turned off. And ideally – for complete privacy – this should not be your home address.
