The Google Phone Location tool allows you to not only track your smartphone, but also find it if you lose it or it is stolen.
Sometimes situations arise when we need to quickly track a phone. It doesn’t matter if the smartphone is lost or stolen, or maybe we want to find out where our loved one is – Google’s phone location feature is very useful, and you should turn it on and know how to use it.
Before we look at Google’s phone location feature, we’ll give you some tips to help you react quickly if your smartphone is stolen or lost. Such situations can happen to anyone, so first of all, you shouldn’t panic, but start acting, and preferably as soon as possible. Delaying in this case can lead to the loss of valuable data and a breach of confidentiality. You’ve probably heard that the first few hours after a kidnapping are crucial for finding a missing person. The same goes for stolen or lost items – you need to respond immediately.
The first step we should take if we lose our phone is to try to track it down. Most modern smartphones have built-in features that allow you to track a lost device. For iPhones, this is Find My iPhone, and for Android, Find My Device. These services allow you to remotely locate your phone, play sound on the device, display messages on the lock screen, and even remotely lock or wipe data from the device. We are well aware that not everyone likes such tools built into the system – an alternative is Google’s phone geolocation.
If you cannot trace your phone or it is switched off, the next step is to contact your telecommunications provider. They can block your SIM card to prevent misuse of your phone number. This step can prevent unauthorised access to our data, which is particularly important.
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Google Phone Location is a very useful tool that can save us in a difficult situation. In my opinion, it’s worth enabling it on your device and giving it access to the Internet, location and to the data on your phone.
What should I do if my device is not in the list or cannot be found? You may have turned off your phone’s location feature, or it may be switched off or dead. Your device may also not have access to GPS or the Internet. Google’s solution is not perfect. It can be frustrating, and many better substitutes can be found on Google Play itself. However, for less advanced users who don’t want to set up additional tools, this option should be enough.
When determining the location of a phone, there are several things to keep in mind. Firstly, enabling any application that allows you to track a phone is an interference with the privacy of its owner. In addition, it is worth remembering that you cannot locate the phone of a person who has not given consent (unless there is a threat to life or health), as this crosses the line of confidentiality.
Another aspect to consider is data security. When using phone location services, logins and codes, as well as other sensitive data such as notes or documents, may be exposed to unauthorised access. Some location services may also collect our data, which we usually do not agree to. Therefore, you should always make sure that you use trusted services that protect your privacy and will not process information found on our smartphone in any way. Perhaps few people pay attention to this, but locating your phone quickly drains your device’s battery. Therefore, if you lose your phone, you need to use the tracking function wisely to determine its location in as much detail as possible before it runs out of battery.
In addition, it is worth remembering that GPS location is not always accurate. It is affected by many factors, such as the presence of buildings, trees, or weather conditions. Therefore, you should always consider the location information as approximate, not absolutely accurate. If the tracker points to this location, you should look around and carefully search for the item in inconspicuous places, such as in the grass, in a garbage can (if the thief decided to throw it away), or under cars.
Last but not least, we have to warn you about the dangers of spyware. Although it is not as difficult to locate a phone as it was a few years ago, it is still worth being especially vigilant if someone wants to install something on our smartphone, for example, remotely.
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If you have lost your smartphone, it is important to change the passwords to all accounts that can be accessed from the lost mobile device as soon as possible. You can’t imagine the damage that can be done by gaining access to your Facebook account, for example… This also applies to email accounts, social media, bank accounts and other online services. Changing your passwords will help protect your information from unauthorised access.
You also need to check that your bank accounts, logins and passwords are properly protected. Don’t have a PIN to lock it and have you written down all your account login information in your notes? Well, you should act immediately, first of all, by remotely blocking your phone if possible. And, of course, contact your bank and block your cards and contactless payment options. You can also log in to your account from another device (such as a computer) and see if any payments have been made using your phone. If you detect any unauthorised activity, you should contact your bank immediately to avoid losing your funds.
Of course, if you are unable to find your smartphone on your own, it is very important to inform the police. Not only will this help you get your mobile device back, but it may also help you file an insurance claim. You should provide the police with as much information as possible, such as the make, model, serial number and last known location.
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Beware of fraudulent websites that can be found by searching on Google for a query such as “Find phone location”. Many of them operate illegally and carry great risks. Scammers will try to get you to enter your phone number to register, or even send you paid text messages. There are many fake location services that can scam you out of your data or money. You should always be cautious when using new services, especially if you don’t know exactly how the location feature works.
Clever fraudsters have learnt to find simple ways to deceive gullible people. Remember that only the operator can determine the location of the device by the phone number, i.e. the SIM card.
The Google Play app store has many apps that can help us in case of phone loss. I’m going to introduce you to a feature offered by Google itself, which is now available on every Android smartphone.
First, go to the Find My Phone page and sign in with your Google account. Of course, this should be the same account you signed in to on your smartphone. Once you’re logged in, check to see if your device is listed. If so, you don’t need to do anything on your phone. Just select the device you are interested in from the list. You will be offered several options to choose from.
Let’s take a closer look at everything.
На мою думку, це дуже корисна функція під час пошуку втраченого смартфону. Уявіть, що ви загубили його десь на вулиці у траві. Спочатку ви перевіряєте місцезнаходження в диспетчері пристрою Android. Це дасть змогу дізнатись, де, більш-менш, він може бути. Потім ви викликаєте його за допомогою інструмента визначення місцезнаходження Google, щоб почути його та знайти.
If you’ve left it on vibrate only or completely off (and many people do), simply calling from another phone won’t help. Regardless of which sound mode is enabled on your phone, Google’s phone location service will call it by raising the ringer volume to the maximum level. This can be useful even when we are looking for a smartphone in our home.
It seems to me that this is unnecessary, given that almost everyone has a smartphone protected by a PIN, password or fingerprint. However, after locking your phone with this feature, it displays information for those who have found your device and the phone number to call. This is a very clever solution, because if the phone falls into the wrong hands, it will be easier for that person to return it to the owner.
In this case, even if we log out, we can still find, block or erase the smartphone data. So it seems to me that it’s worth doing for security reasons.
We may need to do this to switch off the SIM card, order a new one, or set up call forwarding to a new number. This can protect you from identity theft, fraudsters impersonating you, or paid calls and text messages.
This point is placed at the end for a reason. You should only make this decision if you are sure that it is impossible to restore the phone. Even if we don’t have a data backup. Then I would even recommend taking this step at the beginning, but hardly anyone can boast of regular backups.
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Google Phone Location can be an extremely useful feature if your phone is lost or stolen. It’s worth enabling this feature in advance and knowing how to use it. In some cases, this tool can show the location of your smartphone very accurately, but this is not always possible, as some factors can distort the location of the phone. As a reminder, if you are unable to track your smartphone, remember to block your SIM card and access to services such as mobile banking, and then report the loss of the device to the police. Be careful!
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