Today’s question of the day, can someone see your location if your phone is off?
There is no doubt that we don’t fancy having people pret on privacy especially if we value and love our privacy so much.
Going by the question being asked, how possible do you think someone will see your exact location when the phone is switched off, all these I will explain in this article.
Can someone see your location if your phone is off?
As long as your phone is switched off, no one can see your location because there’s no active internet connection and GPS/map running in the phone.
Aside from this, location services will not be active because your phone is switched off.
If someone is tracking you or tracking your number, the person will only be able to see your previous location or the location before you switched off your phone.
For someone to track you through your mobile phone, there are lots of things involved. They are as follows;
1. The phone number
Right now, people get tracked through their cellphone numbers and this usually comes in handy if the phone number is very much active.
If the phone is switched off, the sim card and phone number inside the phone will no longer be available and this will in turn prevent the cellphone from being tracked.
If someone has been tracking you using your cellphone number, the person won’t be able to see your new location other than your previous location before your phone is switched off.
2. Through instant messaging apps
Instant messaging apps is a popular way to track someone with or without the person knowing and iMessage and whatsapp are very common in this type of scenario.
Going by the question being asked on can someone see your location if your phone is off, once your phone is switched off all the instant messaging apps on your cell phone will no longer be active or available.
So in this type of situation, you cannot be tracked through the likes of whatsapp, iMessage, Skype, Facebook messenger, etc.
3. Through email address
Another way to track someone is through email address and the IP address of a user. If your phone is switched off or has no internet connection, you cannot be tracked even though you may be tracked if your computer is active with internet connection.
Generally, for someone to track you down, internet must be active and also the phone must be active as well cause it is through IP address that someone can be tracked.
Does your location show when iphone is off?
Location will never show up when iphone is switched off even if your iPhone is synchronized with an apple watch or using other iPhone to track yourself.
Using find my phone as an example. If your phone is switched off or dead flat, your current location will not available.
If your family members added your iPhone to family which helps to see the location of any of the added family members, your location won’t be available as long as your phone is switched off.
In this type of situation, what other family members or your friends will see is your previous or old location.
For example, on find my phone it will display last seen 15 minutes ago or last seen 30 minutes ago once your iPhone is switched off. The reason for this is because for find my phone to work properly, internet must be active and as well as location services.
All these requires the phone to be switched on and active.
As long as your iPhone is switched off or completely offline without any sort of internet connectivity, no one will be able to see your current location and this answers the question of does your location show when iphone is off.
Can you see someone’s location if their phone is on airplane mode?
Yes you can see someone’s phone if their phone is on airplane mode but only if the person has an active internet connection through the Wi-Fi.
However, if the person’s phone has no active Wi-Fi connection then there’s no you can see the current location of the person except for the person’s previous location.
Before I came up with this post I did my research using my iphone and android phone and they offered the same thing.
As long as the phone has no internet connectivity as the likes of location services and GPS/MAP requires internet connection, it is quite difficult or close to impossible to track someone and find the person’s location.
Even when sim card or probably the person’s phone number is being used, you cannot track the person as long as the phone is completely offline and has no internet connection.
Can someone see your location on airplane mode with WiFi?
The answer is yes. As long as you have an active Wi-Fi whilst your phone is on airplane mode, someone will be able to see your location simply because location services, GPS and maps will be available and active.
Why will they be available and active?
They will be available and active because you have an active internet connection on your phone. Without an active internet connection, location services, GPS and maps will never function or can be used to track someone.
Once again if someone is tracking you through your phone number, it will not work as long as you your phone is on airplane mode. Airplane mode or flight mode will automatically disable any form off cellular network service which will prevent someone from getting tracked using a phone number.
How to prevent from being tracked
If you love your privacy so much and wouldn’t want to be tracked either family, friends or others.
1. Always endeavor to clear your browser history
Don’t fancy a third party checking your browsing history?
You should always clear it.
If you don’t, then a third party person might take a look at your browsing history to see what you do or search on the internet.
You should also erase your browsing history to prevent your personal information from falling into the wrong hands.
When you visit a website, internet communications known as cookies track your IP address. Although they’re called cookies, they’re more like crumbs.
Imagine a trail of cookie crumbs leading from one website to the next, providing a physical record of your online activities.
These cookies stay on your computer and keep track of everything you do. That’s why, even if you never ticked the “Remember Me” box, your login credentials are sometimes saved when you visit a site you’ve previously visited.
2. Use incognito mode
It’s a frequent misperception that adopting an anonymity setting like Google Chrome’s Incognito Mode or Microsoft’s Do Not Track makes you entirely untraceable.
That isn’t the case at all. They can, however, provide some assistance.
Google’s Incognito Mode makes no apologies for its lack of security. “Doesn’t disguise your browsing from your employer, your internet service provider, or the websites you visit,” it says right away.
So just because you’re ‘incognito,’ doesn’t imply you’re protected by a VPN. Your ISP still knows where you’ve been, the websites you’re visiting are aware of your presence, and if you’re on a work network, your boss is aware of your activities.
This holds true for government agencies as well. If you think that clicking a button on Google Chrome will hide your online behavior from the NSA, you’re mistaken.
Incognito users should be aware of “secret agent” surveillance, according to Google.
Incognito Mode was not designed to keep you safe from the outside world. It was designed to keep your activities hidden from the computer you’re using.
If you’re using a friend’s computer to access a social network account, Incognito Mode assures that none of your login details are kept. Incognito Mode can also be used to hide the websites you’ve visited from other users.
This is also true of government agencies. You’re mistaken if you believe that clicking a button on Google Chrome will hide your online activity from the NSA.
What Incognito Mode does do is disable history, cookies, and browser extensions. Websites will not be able to monitor you if cookies are disabled.
As a result, incognito mode is a great way to fight back against marketers, but it’s useless against malevolent actors and government oversight.
3. Be careful opening a shortened url
One of the ways hackers use to track someone’s location is by sending a shortened url and opening the url will show the actual webpage. In most cases they use what is called called IP logger to get hold of someone’s location.
The url contains the actual webpage of the IP logger and when you open the url it will display your current location.
Even close friends and friends can track your current location using any of the hidden url or shortened url.
4. Turn off location services
One of the easy way to track an iphone is through location services and if you have that enabled on your iPhone, someone can easily track your location as long as you have the location services enabled on your iPhone.
Most importantly, it is lot easier if the person’s has your apple of on location sharing on it iphone or Apple device.
Rounding up this topic of can someone see your location if your phone is off, kindly note that once your phone is switched off, you cannot be tracked whether you are using android phone or iPhone.
