Urgent ~ can someone track your iPhone?

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › Urgent ~ can someone track your iPhone?

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1307 posts

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#3302518 28-Oct-2024 16:49

There seems to be a lot of ‘does this thing give away location’ type questions. It really boils down to source of precision data, which comes from the phone itself (hardware). On a iphone this is all in the location and privacy section settings, if this disabled you do not have any data to use to track the device. IP address is not enough to accurately locate a device.

As others have already posted, Apple are very on top of what control they give to the user.

freitasm

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#3302531 28-Oct-2024 17:22

maclongshanks: @SpartanVXL

Thank you :)🐾🙏🏽

snj has commented this on the first page of the thread:

'The Mail app checking accounts will obviously ping the servers regularly, which would mean connecting IP would show in logs.

This turned out unintentionally handy when my dad's iPad got stolen from hospital when he was dying, it checked in just before Find My locked it, so was able to give the police that info in addition to everything else.'

Does that show any location data?
(and if it does, can we stop that from being accessed by another person?) 🐾🙏🏽

Again, Apple keeps the Mail app logs, and It does not share them with any private person.

Emails might contain a "beacon," an invisible image hosted by someone. When that image is loaded, the server logs the IP address (not location).

Pretty much everyone in tech uses beacons. Marketing companies use them to see if an email is opened and to determine whether an investment in a campaign is worthwhile.

The Mail App itself is not the problem.

maclongshanks

50 posts

Geek

#3302532 28-Oct-2024 17:26

@SpartanVXL

That's right. Because............ that's what we need to know.

So everything others say is always 100% true and correct is it?
DO NOT CHECK ANYTHING.
Right 👀

Seriously, and to the others who have also done this, if you have a problem with people asking questions and getting information just scroll on.
No one is making you read or comment on anything.
Your problem with normal communication is not my problem. I don't need to hear it.

SpartanVXL

1307 posts

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#3302534 28-Oct-2024 17:42

maclongshanks: @SpartanVXL

That's right. Because............ that's what we need to know.

So everything others say is always 100% true and correct is it?
DO NOT CHECK ANYTHING.
Right 👀

Seriously, and to the others who have also done this, if you have a problem with people asking questions and getting information just scroll on.
No one is making you read or comment on anything.
Your problem with normal communication is not my problem. I don't need to hear it.

Hi not sure what my post sounded like, but all i’m stating is how location services function. The questions should be the other way around. Instead of ‘does this app reveal location’ it should be ‘does it have access to a potential source of location data’.

The potential to reveal that data comes after the fact, does that make sense?

maclongshanks

50 posts

Geek

#3302537 28-Oct-2024 18:03

@freitasm

Thank you so much for that 🐾🙏🏽

@Qazzy03

Thank you for that 🐾🙏🏽
That's very weird. They sounded very confident. That's one of the reasons we've been worried.
That's great to know 🌸🌸

maclongshanks

50 posts

Geek

#3302540 28-Oct-2024 18:09

@SpartanVXL

Hi thank you.

I'm not sure I know enough about it to understand what you're meaning there.
If an app has the potential to reveal location data, would that not mean it has to have access to a potential source of location data to reveal?

Bung

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#3302545 28-Oct-2024 18:39

Something for you to think about. When i type "can i be tracked on my iphone" this Geekzone thread is high on 2nd page of results. Add NZ to the search query and the Geekzone thread is 1st result. If i had a similar problem outside my understanding i think id approach somebody like Netsafe rather than potentially advertise on an open forum.

Sharesies kids

Free kids accounts - trade shares and funds (NZ, US) with Sharesies (affiliate link).

maclongshanks

50 posts

Geek

#3302578 28-Oct-2024 20:06

@Bung

Thank you for that 🐾🙏🏽
I have been wondering about that. But it's another area I only have a basic understanding of.

I'm not sure what the full potential consequences of that would be?
I was thinking it could be useful for other people to have this info.

Thank you for the suggestion to ask Netsafe, I have heard of them but not what they do. I'll check them out :)🌸

cddt

1555 posts

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#3302612 29-Oct-2024 07:44

If you suspect you are being stalked, contact the police directly.

My referral links: BigPipe | Mercury

maclongshanks

50 posts

Geek

#3302739 29-Oct-2024 14:48

Thank you :)🐾🙏🏽

tieke

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#3302770 29-Oct-2024 15:53

I agree with the other respondents that the simple solutions already provided (make sure no Life360 or similar apps installed, double-check location permissions, sign out of other devices etc) would end the possibility of tracking in basically every standard scenario.

The reason I'm commenting, is that although I'm definitely not saying it is the case in this instance, this topic reminds me strongly of the time a relative contacted me because I was "tech-savvy" and they were concerned that their partner (who had some IT knowledge) was tracking/spying on their phone. I gave similar responses to this topic, giving solutions from the easy-to-accomplish right up to resetting their phone or obtaining a new one and not reusing accounts or numbers, but nothing I suggested seemed enough for them to be convinced it would work. Turns out they had developed schizophrenia, and no suggested solutions would put their mind at ease.

I suppose it is just a reflection of the fact that when technology is seen as a non-understandable multi-functional "magic box", it can be very difficult for non tech-literate people to distinguish between what can be easily accomplished and what are extremely unlikely edge-cases. Almost every civilian case of phone tracking/spying is accomplished by simply installing an app or enabling location sharing and not advanced NCIS-style hacking, but many people don't have the awareness of just how much more unlikely the second option is.

maclongshanks

50 posts

Geek

#3302784 29-Oct-2024 16:44

@tieke

Thank you. That's so right :)🐾🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
It's not that nothing will put my mind at ease though. Not at all.
It's because I'm near completely new to this and I have to learn and find out what is and isn't possible.

You've said this exactly right:
'it can be very difficult for non tech-literate people to distinguish between what can be easily accomplished and what are extremely unlikely edge-cases.'

Absolutely. Because we're not knowledgeable of what is and isn't possible. We have to find that out.

People getting judgy and frustrated is completely unwarranted. If someone needs more information, we need more information. That's normal.

A few things that are being overlooked by some people, are we have a very tech savvy person who has said they can easily get into smart phones.
From our position we have no idea if that's true or not. They were very confident about it. Obviously we had to find out everything about that.

The words of people are not verified facts. Every comment in this thread - and anywhere - is not a verified fact until it's been verified.
You can't tell people to accept what is said because other people have said it.

It's not disrespectful to know everything has to be checked. It's not paranoid, it's not overthinking, it's normal and important. To have to even say that is bizarre. It's normal and necessary.

We had a person say here that they were able to give data from the Mail app to the police that helped find their family member's iPad when it was stolen.
Obviously I had to find out how that works, if it was useful enough to find their iPad.

We've also had a person say here that the methods that have been given should 'pretty much stop non sophisticated trackers'.

Right. So 'pretty much'. That raises the possibility that there may be some situations they may not stop.

And that doesn't address sophisticated trackers.
That is still unknown from our position as we don't know what is possible there.

tieke has also said the methods given here would cover 'basically every standard scenario.'
From that it sounds like there can be non standard scenarios then.
What about them?

tieke has referred to 'extremely unlikely edge cases'. From that it seems there are people out there who can do things that are not the most common methods.

No one should be making any assumptions about what anyone could be capable of. You don't know what any person could decide to do.
No one knows if this person could be an 'edge case'. We don't know, and neither do you.
You don't know what knowledge they do or don't have.

Implying that I'm paranoid, or not listening to people is insulting.
I'm wanting to cover all possibilities. Or as many as we can. As anyone should.
It's being wise.
And, normal 👀

alasta

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#3302787 29-Oct-2024 16:59

maclongshanks:
The words of people are not verified facts. Every comment in this thread - and anywhere - is not a verified fact until it's been verified.
You can't tell people to accept what is said because other people have said it.

It becomes a verified fact when someone provides a link to the manufacturer's documentation. This has been posted twice in this thread, and it's not clear whether you have read it.

Fundamentally this isn't a technology problem - it's a social engineering problem whereby a bad actor is manipulating you into believing they can do something to harm you. The best thing you can do is to cut off all communication with them as they are clearly causing you a lot of anxiety.

maclongshanks

50 posts

Geek

#3302795 29-Oct-2024 17:09

Thank you for your thoughts. You've missed alot of points there though.
Yes I have read and kept the links. We will look into all the points and info that have been given.
It's not necessary for anyone to say that. It has no bearing on anything.

Bung

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#3302826 29-Oct-2024 18:14

maclongshanks: We had a person say here that they were able to give data from the Mail app to the police that helped find their family member's iPad when it was stolen.
Obviously I had to find out how that works, if it was useful enough to find their iPad.

Just so you realise that data given to the Police would have been used by them with a search warrant. It would have been useless to someone without those powers.

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