Here's How To Locate A Phone For Free Using Google Maps

We don’t necessarily think about it, but Google knows a lot of things about us, including some of our movements. It’s invasive, sure, but it can help us find a precious lost phone.

Being able to locate a phone can save a life

In addition to the practical side of being able to find an accidentally misplaced phone, being able to locate a phone can be practical, even vital in certain situations. Imagine a hiker lost in the mountains, a child lost in a public place, or a person suddenly unwell.

In these emergency cases, geolocation can quickly guide emergency services to the person in distress. Likewise, during natural disasters or serious accidents, locating victims via their phones can significantly speed up rescue operations and increase the chances of finding victims safe and sound. This technology also provides peace of mind to families, helping to ensure the safety of their loved ones.

The prerequisites for being able to locate a phone via Google Maps

To locate a device from Google Maps, you will first need to make sure you do the following:

Agree in advance with the person you wish to locate, because it is on their phone that location must be activated.
Make sure that the Google Maps application is installed and updated on the phone you want to locate, and that the user is logged in to their Google account.
Location must be activated beforehand on your phone for the Google Maps application: on Android, you will find this option in Settings > Location. On iOS, go to Settings, then “Privacy and Security” and “Location Services”. Enable the option for the Google Maps app.

Locate the phone in Google Maps

Now that you have confirmed that location services are enabled on your phone for the Google Maps app, you can perform the following actions on the phone you want to be able to track:

Open the Google Maps app, then make sure you’re signed in to the Google account of the person you want to follow.
Tap your profile picture or initials at the top right of the screen
Then tap “Location sharing”, then “New sharing”. You can then choose the duration for which you want to enable sharing. This can range from one hour to an indefinite duration.

You can then share the location with a contact with a Google account. If the contact doesn’t have a Google account, you can tap “Copy to clipboard” and get a link to share (on Android) or send it via iMessage or another messaging app by tapping “More” (on iOS).

Once these steps are completed, the person receiving the location can track the location of the tracked device in real time on Google Maps. This appears in the form of a circle containing their Google profile photo. If you click on this point, you obtain information such as the address or the speed of movement of the device.

Other geolocation methods to track a phone

The Google Maps method is excellent, but it has its limitations: you must first activate the location, then agree to share it with someone else. In an emergency situation, we don’t necessarily think about taking these steps. Here are alternatives that may be useful for finding and securing a smartphone:

Locate, the application integrated into iOS devices

The Find My app makes it easy to find one of your Apple devices. It is therefore possible to locate an iPhone, but also an iPad, a Mac computer, Airpods, an Apple Watch or even any AirTag. All devices appear on a map, and you can play a ringtone to find lost ones nearby. You can also lock a device remotely, and even erase its contents if it connects to the internet. Similar to the Google Maps method, Locate allows you to share your location in real time to the contacts of your choice.

Google Find My Device

For Android users, Google has integrated the Find My Device app into its devices. It works very similarly to Find My on iPhone, and offers practically the same features: audible alarm, map of your Android devices, remote data erasure, etc. Apple Find My remains slightly superior for the moment: it emits notifications when a device is forgotten somewhere, and uses UWB (Ultra-wideband) for more precise location.

Apps to locate yourself with family and friends

Several applications such as Famisafe, Life360 or even FamilyLink from Google specialize in locating members of the same family. They make it possible to locate each member of the family in real time, issue alerts, demarcate safe areas, and some even include a parental control system in addition to the classic location features of mobile devices.

All of these apps are useful and can really make a difference in emergencies. However, they can be invasive from a privacy perspective. You should therefore regularly review permissions and pay attention to the permissions granted to applications on your phone, as these allow companies to collect data about you and your family.