Free GPS Tracking Applications and Software

by Joe on July 13, 2009

You can get GPS tracking for free. There are a couple of different ways to get real-time tracking for your family, friends, or co-workers, but the vast majority of them have something to do with cell phones. Below is a list of several different free GPS tracking services that you can take a look at and decide which one is going to work best for you and your family.  Not all these free applications are available on all mobile devices, so be sure to look at the specific application’s compatible device list to see if your cell phone can run this free GPS tracking software.

InstaMapper – Cell Phone Tracking Made Simple

InstaMapper is a free cell phone tracking application available for download and installation on a cell phone. Getting an account is free and only takes a minute or two (be sure to have a valid email address ready for the registration process). After registering you will install an application on your cell phone that is going to provide all the tracking data. This application, when running, will periodically send the phone’s GPS coordinates to InstaMapper servers where they will compile the data for your own use.

Once your GPS coordinates are there, you can login to your account and see your location on an interactive Google map. This can be great for finding your way around a new place or figuring out exactly how to get someplace (this does require that your cell phone have internet access).  Also, if you want your family or friends to know where you are you can give them the login credentials to your account or you can embed a map of your location on a web property (such as a web page, blog, or Facebook profile). Alternatively, you could send them a link that will take them to a map on the InstaMapper website that will look like this.

This free application also lets you record 100,000 locations per mobile phone, organizing them into different tracks and exported in a variety of formats. This volume of locations is equivalent to several months of 24/7 tracking! Now that is a lot from a completely free GPS tracking application.

This is a very powerful application for anyone looking to let other know about their position in the world. Here is a list of compatible phones for this application.

If you are interested in this option, you should really consider looking at to get one of the many Boost Mobile cell phones that are compatible with these devices. According to the InstaMapper website, data plans can run as little as $0.35 per day, which comes out to around $11 per month, making it one of the most economical GPS tracking devices ever – and with an anticipated battery life of 8-12 hours this has many different potential uses for people and for companies.


If you are going be using this cell phone GPS tracking to monitor a teen driver, to check up on a cheating spouse, to monitor workers while they operate company vehicles, or just to get a better picture of where you have been or are at in the world then InstaMapper should be a very strong candidate for your GPS tracking needs.

3dtracking – Bringing GPS Tracking To PDAs

3dtracking is another application that can be downloaded for cell phones that can provide real-time GPS tracking, but unlike the InstaMapper application this is also available on a range of PDAs. For devices that are compatible with this software see their list of compatible devices.

Being an application compatible with PDAs, it lets you integrate a GPS device that you already own (like an automobile navigation unit like a Garmin Nuvi 760) with a web-enabled or cell phone PDA.  This can be extremely useful for those that already own these devices and who want to take advantage of one of the many free GPS tracking apps out there.

Here is a mock-up combination of devices from the 3dtracking website:

A possible example of a set-up for using 3dtracking is a Windows Pocket PC device (such as an Ipaq) that is used with a GPS receiver (Bluetooth or wired). The application will obtain the GPS data from the receiver and then transmit it back to our servers (if your device is both a phone and a PDA (e.g. the i-Mate/Qtek range of products) then it can connect via GPRS. If not, you can transmit all your data to our servers when you sync your PDA to your computer). Once on our servers, you can log in at any time to see your traveled route on either Google Earth or Google Maps. Just select your starting date and time, as well as your end date and time, and our systems will show you exactly where traveled and your speeds along the way.

You can make this data available to other people in a similar fashion to InstaMapper: you can give someone the login credentials to your account or you can put a map on a web property that you own.  However, it does appear that in order to put your map up on a website you must be able to edit information in the <head> html section of the webpage.  This is not possible on websites like Facebook, MySpace, or WordPress.com.  It is possible on Blogger, a self hosted WordPress blog, or a static html page that you might create.

In the end, this is an adequate system if you already have one of the devices mentioned on the list – but if you are just starting out and don’t own a device yet you might want to give InstaMapper a shot if you want to share your position data with someone else.

Mologogo – A Free Social Cell Phone Tracking GPS

Mologogo is like the Facebook of free GPS tracking applications for cell phones.  You can access the location of yourself or your friends from your phone or the web, giving you a quick picture of where everyone is at any given moment of the day.  This is great for people who are constantly on the go and love to keep their friends close.  You can get alerts when people on your friends list are close to you, or you can search to see if your friends are around a certain point of interest (like the club you are at), and stay updated with local weather and traffic conditions all from the same screen. Mologogo also lets its users engage in mobile chat, so you don’t need to burn up text messages if you don’t have an unlimited plan but want to have a quick conversation with a friend in your area.

Mologogo also lets you interact with all this data from a PC.  You can get a picture of where your friends are at at that very moment, you can add new friends to your account, and you can even show your location on your own webpage or blog (just like InstaMapper and 3dtracking).  Your ability to engage with others via your position information with this free cell phone tracking application is pretty phenomenal and offers something that neither of the two previously mentioned applications are able to provide as easily.  This is definitely the most social of all the GPS tracking apps I have seen.

If you want to know if your phone is compatible with this application then you should take a look at the following compatible phone list.  What this list essentially includes is any Nextel, Sprint, or Boost Mobile phones that is able to support Java and also has a GPS receiver installed. Mologogo is also able to be used on Blackberries, Windows Mobile Pocket PC Phones, and SmartPhones on any mobile provider as long as there is an external or internal GPS with the device.

The social aspect of Mologogo is really the best thing about it.  If you want to use your cell phone as a GPS tracking device for the purpose of connecting with your friends then there is no better application on the market.  But it does lack some of the useful features that make InstaMapper such a good application for a wide range of applications.  You simply cannot go wrong with Mologogo if you just want to stay connected to your friends.

LiveTracker – A Blackberry GPS Tracking App In Beta

LiveTracker is currently in beta development and is only available for Blackberry devices. It is still free, so users of the Blackberry should definitely consider using this free software on their phones.  One main perk is that you don’t need to register an account to use this software – all you do is download the software from the SkyLab website and install it on your phone. Start running the application and it will begin recording and sending your location coordinates that it gathered via GPS to the LiveTracker servers.

The ability to share locations with this app is still a little limited – you can only send tracking links via EMail, PIN, SMS, and MMS. You cannot currently embed your location like you can with all the other free GPS tracking applications already mentioned. While this is not that big of a deal for some users, embedding is very important to some users. However, since this software is still in beta you have to realize that these are probably features that the developers are planning on implementing at some point.

If you use a Blackberry you still might want to check this out if you are just trying to dabble in what cell phone GPS can provide.  It might not be as cool, powerful, or full featured as InstaMapper, 3dtracking, or Mologogo – but just because it isn’t now doesn’t mean that one day it might be the best app out there.

GeoTrack24 – Free (Limited) GPS Tracking For Phones and Devices

GeoTrack24 offers a free GPS tracking service, but the “free-ness” of this service is rather limited.  A free account will allow you to track one device, allow 1 person to be able to view this data, and has a history of 3 days.  There appears to be no way to share data with others, making it very hard to use this service for very much.  What does make this service unique is that it can be used on a wide range of devices – both cell phones and various GPS tracking devices.  For a full list of compatible devices see their cell phone list and units list.

Because you can use some GPS tracking devices with this service it is something that you might want to consider using, but the limited device history and 1 account makes it severely limited in what it can do.  They do offer some subscription based plans that are relatively inexpensive (rates are quoted in Pounds), but when you can get a similar, but better, service for free on a cell phone from another software package then you should probably consider this service last on your list.

If you just want to do some minimal free GPS cell phone tracking then this software is probably going to be good enough for you.  However, you should definitely consider some of the other applications mentioned here since they offer a higher quality service.

OpenGTS – Consumer Grade Free GPS Fleet Tracking Software

OpenGTS is a free GPS tracking software that is commercial grade.  Its main application is to be used in GPS fleet tracking, but it could be used to help a family monitor the activity of several people or vehicles at the same exact time.  This free software also differs greatly from some of the other applications mentioned above in that it is a server side tracking software – meaning that it is not installed on any device but is instead installed on a computer.   OpenGTS acts like the captain of your GPS tracking device, taking in the information that the device transmits via GPRS.

If you are looking for a short right up of this service you can read more about it at OpenGTS: A Free GPS Fleet Tracking Software.

GolfLogix – Free GPS Tracking Software For Golf Enthusiasts

If you are in the market for a free golf GPS tracking software then you have to check out GolfLogix.  They offer a a free golf GPS application for iPhones and Blackberries.  They don’t currently have a free app for all the different styles of Blackberry, so head on over to their site at GolfLogix to see if your particular flavor is able to run their software.  If you are a Verizon customer, you might be out of luck since this carrier is notorious for not letting people install third party applications on their Blackberries.

If you are looking to get free GPS tracking then you are probably going to be looking to the cell phone.  The number of free and useful applications available on these devices makes it a very compelling pick for those interested in getting GPS information in real time to a wide range of interested parties.

Do you have any experience with these free GPS cell phone tracking applications?  We would love to hear about them in the comments section below.

{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }

vicky May 23, 2011 at 10:20 pm

pls help me i am get the road.

Reply

parvesh June 15, 2011 at 12:39 am

how can i get a cell tracker software?
can anyone tell me, can anyone?
can you joe?

Reply

Joe June 16, 2011 at 11:42 am

Hi Parvesh,

I have written a post about how to download cell phone tracking software. But for brevity’s sake, here is the basic concept:

  1. Find the tracker you want to use
  2. Go to the app store for your operating system or go to the apps website
  3. Follow the instructions from the app store or website to download it to your phone

I hope that is simple enough.

- Joe

Reply

rival valentinov October 6, 2011 at 8:21 am

dear admin, i have a problem to my little sis,, she always going anywhere n me never know where is her… that make my family very worry … n i hope this stuf can i use for tarcking her n know where is her,,,

Reply

FIBER0PTIC December 30, 2011 at 12:46 am

I have hundreds of hours invested in free gps cell tracking… Let me save you some time on the front end and in return I want you too help others by posting your results and what solutions are best for you.

Mologogo.com I have used this free for years and have multiple accounts, I use the i415 candybar (shape) phone. Download the software too your PC then use a data cable for the phone install, or you can pay a service fee and the software will be sent via air.

they changed the terms of service that comes with the phone, when you buy the phone they give a free 40.00 or 50.00 boost phone credit card.

they bill .xx cents per minute you make voice calls… however access to GPS info is free IF you have minutes on your phone.

Minutes expire if not used (30 or 60 days).. the clock starts once you make the 1st call.

IF you activate the phone and never use any minutes then the countdown never starts and you have gps access with no additional cost then then i415 phone.. I buy them from Walmart in the $45.00 -$55.00 range and supply is running out on this model, flip phones suck for gps tracking (antenna plus always on is a special hack (more work)).

Mologogo.com can be viewed from your PC or you can view from a 2nd cell phone, you need to add friend/allow tracking. Mologogo makes use of Google Maps and you can view location changes when the phone moves from 5 to 15 feet.. it’s sensitive, will zoom not only into the house the phone is in but the room!

If no GPS signal can be found then it will track via cell towers and this is no cost on our end either.

review: make sure you get the right phone (candybar) 1415 is best hardware and the best cost. Mologogo.com board or my website lets users post specials or upgrades.

with the phone get boost card with 40.00 or 50.00 free minutes.

never tell the phone company your cell will run a program that pulls information automatic – terms of service

get data cable for mologogo software install, I paid $25 or $30 for adapters/made my own set and FUTUREDIAL software you can buy the whole kits on sale at Fry’s that include cables. FREE with mail offer upto $85.00 retail price. (Frys has other specials every few months – read FRIDAY NEWSPAPER because they never post online this offer)

It’s simple once you have the hardware, and if your the diy type then you start fun mods on the phone that will save battery. I should give you this stumble block that I have a a sloppy work around for explain later… problem is BATTERY LIFE… example, you want to see where X car is located, turn on phone, stealth hide it on frame with duct tape (poor antenna signal but good enuf in most applications) the std battery when sending signal every 5 minutes will go dead in 14hrs ~ 24hrs or less! buy a better battery- added cost and you gain very little in hours, find cheap 3.6v batteries, make your own battery packs, link multiple together thus more time, or tap into the car battery (if your car), other options are activate/power on phone when in motion only.

free gps is free IF you have the right data plan, It’s brutal per phone if you only want gps feature. for example I have a setup on my truck, and each of my motorcycles that I never remove – security feature if stolen/moved mologogo will notify my when moved… I can’t wait for the next time someone tries to steal my bike (glock pre~loaded)…

I tried to get discounts on auto insurance, it depends on who holds your policy, some ppl have had success others get the agent reply “that’s factored in already”, if you get this type of reply then you need too find out if this agent works on commission and/or if the get bumps for each level of policy sold, most of the time they can get you coverage for X amount per month, everything over X amount goes in the Agents pockets, while on the insurance topic look into advance payment discount (I save 40% when year-2-year vs. month-2-month).

All information I offer here is per my core feelings on all information, it wants to be free and shared across all media types in pure. My texts are Not Copyright and you could take my 1337 words and Copy/Cut/Paste without fear of My Hack/Phreak Scene Members, Web Friends & Family or Special Use Anon Network ever contacting you, We have been doing it since Pre_Scene 1984 so enjoy, however posting a link to this location (My server or current page) with your comments on the subject makes global updated SE information better for everyone, many of you found this page in Google? or a Link created by a Human that knows what your interested in. Will 1 more link help a Search in Google when it has how many BILLION Pages? Yes, it does I hate too say Google is smart but it does know REAL TEXT (Master past did said… it’s why spell checked is off, so he did click!). Be nice 12/21/2o12 is near, however more will read this after 12/21/2o12 and this 1337 text is archived until the next near miss Magnet.

FIBER0PTIC/FBR 2001, The HUMBLE Guys, Napalm, & Worship.
- Remember that we have only 10 types of users in this world, those that know binary and those that don’t.

Reply

Joe January 3, 2012 at 6:58 am

Hi FIBER0PTIC,

Thanks for your comment! It was very useful.

Joe

Reply

goutam dey January 26, 2012 at 4:04 am

i want to download a softwear,this one best,

Reply

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