There are many different ways to trace someone’s whereabouts. The easiest is to simply put up flyers in places that the person might visit, such as schools, churches and local businesses.
The tracing of an individual’s location is possible through GPS data collected by smartphones. This data is often sold to advertising companies, allowing people to track an individual’s movements with disturbing accuracy.
1. Contact the Police
There are a few different reasons why you might want to trace the location of a person. Whether it’s to help find your child, a missing friend, or a cheating partner, the police are often one of the first places you should contact when trying to trace someone’s whereabouts. They can be a great resource and may be able to offer you some valuable tips and tricks.
One way that the police track a person’s whereabouts is by working with their mobile phone providers. This is done by accessing the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number and other information that is recorded when the person calls or receives calls. Police can also track a person’s whereabouts by using GPS data from their phone, triangulation based on cell towers, and other methods. This can be done without a warrant in cases of exigent circumstances, such as an emergency or when there is a risk that the person might harm themselves or others.
Additionally, if the person uses their personal phone for work-related purposes, then employers can legally track the location of those phones. However, it is important that employers have a legitimate business reason to do so and are transparent with their employees about this practice.
3. Look at Social Media
When you use social media, your location is broadcast. If you’ve checked in to enough places and for long enough periods of time, the information will build up into a public record that can be accessed by anyone. This is known as a “check in”.
The information on your social media accounts can be useful for skip tracers, bounty hunters and law enforcement. You can search for people and get clues about where they’ve been and who they talk to.
For example, when you use Instagram, the platform shows where and when a photo was taken. The captions, hashtags and other metadata can be helpful if you’re trying to find someone. LinkedIn can also be a good resource because it provides up-to-date information on someone’s work history, educational background and skill sets as well as how they’re connected to other people. This is especially useful if you’re looking for someone in a particular profession. The “Activity” section will show you what posts they’ve liked or commented on which can provide further clues. It may even show you the person’s hometown.
4. Look at Your Phone
Your mobile phone is a constant tracking device, and it is able to tell others where you are in real time. All it takes is triangulating the signals from three or more cell towers to discover your location, and cell providers are constantly sharing that information with people and businesses who may not have your best interests in mind (think targeted ads). You can see when someone has used your camera, microphone or location services on your iPhone by swiping up from the bottom of your screen. You might be surprised to find that apps on your phone are also snooping on you. And it is possible for employers to track employee personal phones that are used for work purposes.
While there are a few legitimate reasons for an employer to track employee phones, the information collected from this activity can be abused and lead to privacy violations.