# I have a question about cellphone tracking if anyone can help.



## ironpony (Apr 4, 2022)

For a story I am writing, I wanted my protagonist to follow another character's car while remaining inconspicuous.  I wrote so that he puts a cellphone on the character's car, and uses it as a tracking device, to track the car.  I wrote it so that he is looking at the screen of the cellphone he has with him so he can see the signal of the other cellphone in relation to where he is.  But I was told by readers that even though I just left up to their imagination, they still want an explanation as to how he can see the signal of one cellphone, on the signal of his own cellphone.

Does anyone know how this works, by any chance, so I can explain it better technically?  Thank you very much for any information on this!  I really appreciate it!


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## bdcharles (Apr 4, 2022)

Cellphone A would be trackable by GPS and also to a (possibly less accurate degree) by the cellular network. Then if the protagonist has some sort of app on their own handset, or access to a system from their handset that plots that data, they could see the first cellphone that way. I believe things like "Find my Iphone" do this but as I understand it, that is a "friends list" type of tracking so both parties have to agree to it. If that is not an option, they would need access to the cellular or GPS network's data, which is possible - such data exists - but they would need access to it.


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## TerraLiga (Apr 4, 2022)

You can do this on an Android phone using Family Link - it's built in to the OS. You can display another phone's location on a map and it's accurate to within 3m.


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## ironpony (Apr 4, 2022)

Oh ok thanks.  Will doing it this way leave a record for the police to find though, as opposed to keeping it offa police investigation?


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## bdcharles (Apr 5, 2022)

ironpony said:


> Oh ok thanks.  Will doing it this way leave a record for the police to find though, as opposed to keeping it offa police investigation?


The police can request the records to support their investigation.


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## TerraLiga (Apr 5, 2022)

If you own both the phones you could recover the tracked phone at some convenient point? If the police had some reason to collect both phones from you, or you left the tracked phone on the car, they could prove that both phones were connected using cellular data, but they would need at least one phone to do that.


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## ironpony (Apr 5, 2022)

Oh okay thank, you very much!  But I was wondering, would there still be an external record of it, with the app company or with the cellphone company?


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## bdcharles (Apr 6, 2022)

ironpony said:


> Oh okay thank, you very much!  But I was wondering, would there still be an external record of it, with the app company or with the cellphone company?


Yes possibly


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## ironpony (Apr 6, 2022)

bdcharles said:


> Yes possibly


Is there a way to get rid of that external record then, or at least build a tracking device that will show up on an electronic map that will not leave an external record?


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## TerraLiga (Apr 7, 2022)

If the device uses cellular data then it would leave a record. If it just uses satellite timing beacons then it probably wouldn't.

Why would the police suspect a person is being tracked?


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## ironpony (Apr 7, 2022)

Oh I don't think the police would suspect it but I wonder if the person doing the tracking would still want to hide any records, just in case, should the police find out about them otherwise.


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## CyberWar (Apr 10, 2022)

The most straightforward way to do it by a non-expert would be by using the tracking tool in WhatsApp (a favourite for concerned parents, jealous spouses and stalking exes). Food delivery services use similar apps to allow clients to track the progress of their deliveries. Moreover, cellphone photography apps come with a geotagging feature, attaching exact geographic coordinates to any picture taken. Ergo, don't ever take pictures inside or around your home - it can give anyone with a bit of know-how a detailed layout of your residence and the valuables within, and we all know how good the companies are with protecting private data.

In principle, it's pretty straightforward to locate a cellphone. Triangulation is the simplest, measuring the difference in signal strength between the target phone and two or more nearby cell towers. Since most modern phones have GPS support, one can use the GPS signal to home in on the phone. For even more precise location indoors, one can use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth of other devices, using them as triangulation points. This is what military intelligence likes to do - if they can catch an enemy commander using an unsecure cellphone, they can pinpoint his location via geolocation and take him out with an airstrike or an artillery barrage. It's how the CIA has hunted down some terrorist leaders, and how the Ukrainian military has managed to pick off a couple Russian generals over the past month.


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## ironpony (Apr 12, 2022)

Oh okay thanks.  But if the main character were to use whatsapp, I guess whatsapp would still leave a record of it for the police to chew on though?


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## CyberWar (Apr 14, 2022)

ironpony said:


> Oh okay thanks.  But if the main character were to use whatsapp, I guess whatsapp would still leave a record of it for the police to chew on though?


It most probably would. Tracking people these days is frankly the easy part - the hard part is doing it without anyone able to trace you back.

You could resolve this by having the main character enlist the help of a hacker, who'd know how to cover his tracks. Mainstream commercial apps generally have a pretty crappy security, making it possible for people in the know to bypass it with relative ease. The good thing with such a solution - you don't have to explain in detail how the tracking is done beyond mentioning a plausible method, moreso since you write from the perspective of the protagonist who apparently isn't an IT expert. After all, you are writing a work of fiction, not a technical manual.


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## ironpony (Apr 14, 2022)

Okay thanks. I can do something like that.  I wrote it so that I don't get into specifics of the tracking device and I just wrote it how he can see the tracking device on an electronic map, but the readers have questions as to how he was able to do this though.  So do I have to explain it all to satisfy the readers though, if they say it's a problem?

However, instead of getting a hacker to delete a record with a cellphone, company, instead is there a device you can just point towards someone who has a burner phone, at that device will sense the cellphone signal, memorize that specific signal from that phone, and keep on tracking as long as the distance is close enough but not close enough so that the person you are following will not see you?


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## CyberWar (Apr 14, 2022)

ironpony said:


> Okay thanks. I can do something like that.  I wrote it so that I don't get into specifics of the tracking device and I just wrote it how he can see the tracking device on an electronic map, but the readers have questions as to how he was able to do this though.  So do I have to explain it all to satisfy the readers though, if they say it's a problem?


Well, let's be honest - pretty much every Hollywood war movie should make anyone who's ever served in the military cringe, yet somehow the flagrant inaccuracies don't keep most soldiers and ex-soldiers from enjoying movies. They are works of fiction, not documentaries, and while a certain percentage of people like to bitch about inaccuracies (myself included), most either don't know enough about the subject to care, or suspend their disbelief for the sake of enjoying the movie.

So by all means, do research and try to come up with something plausible, but don't stress out over it - you are writing a work of fiction, after all.


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## ironpony (Apr 14, 2022)

That's true, it's just I wonder why readers are finding it hard to suspend disbelief, especially if they do not work in the cellphone business.


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## TerraLiga (Apr 14, 2022)

Maybe it's me, but I don't quite see the issue.

If you use a cell network you can be traced, but only if law enforcement suspect you of a crime and then an application would have to be made to the cell network provider - would could take weeks. If you own both cell devices then there would be no reason to suspect one person is tracking another.

If you use GPS (basically 3 or more clocks in space) then you can't easily be traced at all. Millions of devices use GPS signals, so separating out a specific call or set of calls from an infinitely large log of calls to the satellites would be a HUGE demand on resources.

You could just buy one of these and be completely anonymous in your activities:


			https://www.onbuy.com/gb/type-car-locator-mini-gps-tracker~c11569~p44481972/?exta=bingsh&stat=eyJpcCI6IjEwLjM0MDAiLCJkcCI6IjAuMDAwMCIsImxpZCI6NzkzMDczMTIsInMiOiIxMCIsInQiOjE2NDk4MDczMDUsImJtYyI6MH0=&exta=bingsh&msclkid=e39f873b15ab17276023e56389c5d02b&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=(GB%3A%20SAD)%20Electronics%20%26%20Technology&utm_term=4574999168750869&utm_content=(GB%3A%20SAD)%20Electronics%20%26%20Technology%20-%2020


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## ironpony (Apr 14, 2022)

Oh okay thank you very much!  Well as far as those devices go, I was reading about them in your link, (thank you), but I do not understand how they send out the live signal for the person tracking to read.  Does the live signal go to a cellphone and do you need an app from the company for that?


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## TerraLiga (Apr 16, 2022)

No problem, you're welcome.

Can I ask who your readers are? I can't think of a single reason why somebody would question the validity of following a person/car with a cell phone or tracker providing a visual location. Can you ask your readers what is making this technology implausible? Almost every fleet operator in the Western world and beyond uses it. Owners of expensive cars use it. Some parents use it. Suspicious spouses use it. Private detectives use it. It's not new, exclusive or even expensive.

As for leaving some sort of digital record, only a radio beacon will not leave some form of digital fingerprint somewhere to be found, but range is very low and get's lower when you enter more built-up areas. That technology is truly ancient!


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## WTFarm Girl (Jul 7, 2022)

Police cannot always figure out if you are being tracked. There are LOTS of trackers gadgets you can buy online, from "apple air tags" to MANY others. Some you can add a subscription to and it bounces off cell towers and back to your phone. You hide it in the car and can live track. if you have a pre-paid phone I THINK you can still connect them to that. be TOUGH for police to find out.

Also, there is a way that google can track you too if your location is on, and anyone can log into that information as long as they were on the same network (phone account).


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## Theglasshouse (Jul 7, 2022)

You can always have a not very computer savvy person be gifted a computer as a present with tracking enabled. That would create a sense of fear and pity in the audience that they are being followed. Especially if it is a top-of-the-line laptop, they couldn't afford.


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