Urgent ~ can someone track your iPhone?

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#3302023 27-Oct-2024 14:52

maclongshanks: @tweake

I can imagine. Being wary is understandable.
Falsely accusing someone saying they are doing it when they have absolutely no clue is another thing altogether.

How do we find out then? I have no idea.
As with many people we both have alot going on in our lives and don't have 50 hours to search for it.
I have Googled a few times and there's so many sites that don't look genuine or I can't tell.

I don't know alot about it either so I don't know if what I find is right or not.
Most sites seem to be for overseas too. I don't know if their info applies here either.

But as with anything, this could all be bs too. How do you know. I have no idea.
I can only hope some people will help 🐾

Is there a way I can show I'm genuine? The person is very close to me. But how do I show that, and without giving away any information about them.
I can get a list of the apps they have on their phone. Don't know if that's really going to show anything though as that could be bs too right.

exactly, we don't know who is genuine and who is not. so please be open to the fact that people will be skeptical and may accuse you of things, rightly or wrongly, so don't get wound up about it.

maclongshanks

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#3302072 27-Oct-2024 15:01

Nah. Keeping an open mind and being wary is fine. Accusing people of things when you have no clue whatsoever is not ok.

Don't tell me or anyone how we should respond. I'll deal with it however I see fit, within the forum rules. Like any grown adult who doesn't need someone to tell them how to behave.

Please be open to the fact that you may be dealing with people who are genuine and may be in really stressful situations.
People being aholes and making false accusations to someone in that position can add significantly to their stress.

Oblivian

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#3302074 27-Oct-2024 15:05

maclongshanks: And you, have all the vibes and manner of a troll.
They always have to turn up don't they 🙄🙄🙄

Your manner of questions without additional context or storyline has gone from how is it possible to be tracked. Of which answers were given on where to check permissions etc. as IOS is fairly bulletproof.

To saying lines like.

The person won't accept any requests for apps to be installed and won't be giving permission for any tracking.

Can they be tracked in any way through Google, Maps or Google accounts? They have a Google and Gmail account.
And Hotmail.

Then what are we to think. The answer is there. If they're not going to be accepting apps with the ability built in. Or allowing permissions to do so. Then it just won't be happening. Answered

Digging further is effectively asking on how to bypass those secure measures put in place on the platform.

maclongshanks

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#3302078 27-Oct-2024 15:39

@Oblivian

Right. So providing more context or storyline isn't going to help as people have pointed out, anyone can make anything up.

If you want to know if someone is genuine you should give them a chance to show that before accusing them of something they may not be doing.
If there is a way they can prove it or show it's more likely.

As far as I understand I have to say they're not going to be accepting any requests for apps to be installed or giving permission to be tracked, because I've seen that can be done.

I thought I have to explain that so people know those methods aren't going to be happening.
It hasn't 'gone' from anything, it's all part of the same issue.

I've seen people saying phones may be able to be tracked through Google, Maps or having a Google account. That is also part of my original question.
I have to find out about that obviously as we're wanting to stop that from happening.

I don't know enough about it to know, but I had thought wanting to stop it is not the same as asking how to do it. I don't know how else to find out.

If you have any questions about someone's intentions the fair thing to do is get them to verify. If there is a way to do that. I have no idea.

I'm accepting and appreciating the answers that are being given showing how to stop it.
That sounds to me more like someone wanting to stop it not find out how to do it.

I don't know enough about it to know how people wanting to track would use that information. Perhaps they can still get clues from that, I don't know.
What do people who are genuine do then when we need this information?

maclongshanks

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#3302101 27-Oct-2024 16:30

@Oblivian

So I asked in my post to snj about how the Mail app works with tracking. Yeah you could see that as someone looking for more information about how it works, or it could be someone who needs to know how it works to know if and how to stop it.
It's not a crime to need to understand how things work.

If people are going to assume that every person needing this information is up to no good, where do people who are genuine find it out?
Genuine question. If y'all are going to assume everyone in this situation is a criminal, it would be great to know where else I can find out.

maclongshanks

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#3302102 27-Oct-2024 16:32

Oh wait. That would still be helping the criminal wouldn't it.
Ok we're just fkd then.

freitasm

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#3302120 27-Oct-2024 17:18

@Spyware, that question is off-topic and rude.

I have removed two replies. Focus on helping, people.

Tradepub

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Senecio

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#3302123 27-Oct-2024 17:23

What are you trying to do? People will be much more helpful if you're clear on what you want.

freitasm

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#3302124 27-Oct-2024 17:25

Senecio:

What are you trying to do? People will be much more helpful if you're clear on what you want.

Exactly. Are you helping someone who fears being tracked now or being tracked in the future?

This, at least, could be a good indicator in which direction to go with advice.

maclongshanks

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#3302138 27-Oct-2024 18:09

@freitasm
Thank you :) I really appreciate that 😺🐾🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

@Senecio & @freitasm

Thank you guys 🐾🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
We're worried about the possibility they could be tracked now or in the future. Any time really.

I appreciate the concern about giving out certain info about it. But as I say, where do people who are genuine get this information when we need it?

We need to know how to stop any way it can be done, with mobile phones in general and with iPhones.
It seems natural to me we're going to need some info to understand how certain things work.
I'm not sure how else to ask.

I asked how the Mail app works because obviously if it's not a problem, we don't need to worry about it.
I can't know if it's not going to be a problem if I don't know how it works in this situation.

As I've said above I have Googled a few times and couldn't find much decent information, at least in what I found. And I didn't know if what I was reading was reliable.

I know you can usually get better quality information from people who are more experienced in that area.

I also couldn't find really any info that was for Aotearoa. I have no idea if the information on overseas sites is the same for NZ.

Maybe that was just the searches I did and I was unlucky. But yeah I feel like we need more reliable information 🐾🌸🙏🏽

I don't know if I'm right thinking this but to my mind there seems to be a lot of information about many things that can be potentially used for unethical purposes by anyone.

Are we all going to close out people who need it and share nothing in case someone with the wrong intentions gets it?
That could apply to so many things.

If they're that determined they will find it anyway won't they.
If they're hackers or crims or whatever they've probably got more time and money to do that than us.

freitasm

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#3302145 27-Oct-2024 18:25

maclongshanks:

We're worried about the possibility they could be tracked now or in the future. Any time really.

Ok, here is a quick guide.

Never install an app that someone shared via email, SMS or chat. It doesn't matter if you know the sender - it could well be someone else using the sender's name or their information
Change your Google or Apple account password. If there's an option to log out of all current sessions when changing the password, do so.
Enable 2FA on any account, including Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. If you can, do it.
Check your phone for location settings and permissions and which apps can use them. Remove permissions from and uninstall any apps you don't recognise.
If you have to use an app like Life360, ensure you are not sharing or participating in any circles you don't control. Whoever controls the circles can add someone else without you knowing. If you don't maintain a circle, review it every week or so for new members.
Be aware of trackers. If you use a tracker (or sometimes an Apple Airpods or other headphones), disable sharing if it exists.

These steps will pretty much cover any non-sophisticated stalker.

Remember, you have to be right all the time, the other side only have to be right once.

maclongshanks

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#3302164 27-Oct-2024 19:16

@freitasm

Thank you so much for that :)🐾🙏🏽
We really appreciate it 😺🌸🌸🌸

So with their Google or Apple account, if they change their password does that mean they can't be tracked in any way through Google or maps?

I've read some disturbing things people have said elsewhere that anyone can put in just someone's phone number and they can see their location.
Through them having a Google account. Or on maps. I have no idea if it's true.

If anyone is happy to answer, with the Mail app on iPhone, is that something that can be tracked live or around a certain time, or is it a record that can be accessed a certain time after?

How close to the physical location of the phone does it show?
Does it show the nearest cell tower or an exact or nearby physical location?

If it does show a physical location, does it still do that if the person with the phone is out in nature places away from addresses?

If it does any of that, can we stop it?

I have to ask this as the person who commented about it just said the Mail app pings the servers regularly, which means the connecting IP would show in logs.
I don't know what that means. So need to find out how that would work in our situation.

There are tracking sites and apps that claim they can track someone's location just from their phone number.
Is that true?
If it is is there anything we can do to stop it?
We need reliable info on this so would appreciate hearing only from people who know this for sure.

Are there reliable sites we can check these things out ourselves?

Yeah that's exactly right. We do have to be right all the time. That's why we're trying to find out any way this can be done and stop it 🐾🙏🏽

We're probably going to need to find every way they might do it that we can. The person who could do the tracking is doing a tech course which includes phones and could include all of this. They could be a more sophisticated tracker.

Are there experts in this kind of stuff, can anyone recommend?

If anyone can help with as much info as we can we'd be very grateful :)🐾🙏🏽

freitasm

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#3302166 27-Oct-2024 19:19

No. Changing the password just ensure no one else can access the account and use the Find My Device features.

Oblivian

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#3302173 27-Oct-2024 20:33

Again, with fragmented /limited information. We can only go on chunks. So don't jump down our throat when we don't understand what's being hidden/hiding behind a wall of text.

However if you're scared someone doing a tech course is going to become the next best hacker against someone else. And do malicious intent with the user of whatever device is out there by means of installing something to track it. And trying to prevent it ahead of time.

Perhaps a smartphone for the recipient is not the best solution. If it's for basic contact. Dumb-phones still exist. No apps, no GPS. Just calls and text. Again. We don't know the why/what's going on. But that's one of the options given the widest of circumstances.

For everything else. There is permission and app controls. The person with the device in their hand makes the decision. No-one can get ahead of that.

Apps can't get on the apple app store without being sniffed by apple to make sure they are not malicious intent and meet criteria. But that does not mean they CAN'T track.

Just like google, apps HAVE to be upfront and REQUEST you allow use of the GPS and tracking services at time of install.

https://support.apple.com/en-nz/102515

That is the _1_ time mentioned. You can try and swat all you want. But 1 click - 'allow' is all it takes.

Parental controls restrict aspects like installing apps, allowing permission for apps/things to use the tracking facilities. But if you are not in a position to turn those on. See previous.

https://support.apple.com/en-nz/105121

Here are the things you can restrict:

Location Services: Lock the settings to allow apps and websites to use location

But no, there are no real experts on this. It's in the user guides when setting devices up. Or talking with the sales reps.

But there are plenty claiming to find lost phones, or track them based on a phone number or email address. Are as already said, out for money. You just can't. Unless the person with it, has done wrong. Or allowed it. Especially in apple world.

In apple world, you can't even unlock the ipad of a deceased relative without multiple documents and an officiated death certificate. Let alone someone selling themselves to find stolen ones.

That's what 'find my iphone' and android 'find my device' is for.

maclongshanks

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#3302178 27-Oct-2024 21:05

@Oblivian

No. Don't jump to conclusions and make false accusations when you have no idea what is happening. Then you won't get the reaction back.

If you need more information the usual course of action is to ask for it.
No one is a mind reader. I don't know what you need to know unless you say.

On the flipside, we appreciate you taking the time to share that information. Thank you - for that.

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