We are all aware of the many different free GPS tracking software applications that are available for cell phones. The different developers and tracking companies who provide this software have done so out of the goodness of their hearts and the hope that the advertising in the application or the up sell market is going to make them some money. Even if they do not monetize these tracking systems they are at least hoping that the reputation they establish will benefit them in some other way in the future.
Either way, you have a market today where there are dozens of 100% free to use cell phone GPS tracking systems. But the question is, are these free cell phone tracking systems really free?
I think that as we look deeper into this issue we are going to find that the answer is that it depends on a person’s particular circumstances. But in order for any of the discussion of cost to make sense to us we first need to establish a basic understanding of how free cell phone tracking actually works.
How Free Cell Phone Tracking Works
When coming to this question we need to divide our understanding into two distinct parts. The first is how does the cell phone determine where it is in the world. The second is how does the cell phone communicate that information to outside parties. Once we understand these things we will see just how free free GPS tracking really is.
For the first part we need to look at the principle of trilateration. This geometric rule says that if you know your distance from three or more known points you can determine your exact location. Cell phones that can be tracked tap into this geometric principle via GPS. The way this works is like this:
iPhones are extremely popular and can be used as GPS tracking devices.
Certain phones (iPhones, Blackberries, and other smartphones) have a GPS receiver installed in them when they are made. Once the phone is bought and activated by a user the full functionality of the GPS can come alive, all it needs is for the cell phone to be turned on (some GPS functionality, like GPS tracking, will also require that the cell phone be receiving a signal, but more on that later). If you do not have a GPS-enabled cell phone then you cannot take advantage of the free cell phone tracking available for download on the Internet.
The second part we need to understand about GPS tracking with cell phones is how these devices transmit the position information that they gather from the GPS. For this, cell phones are going to need to have access to one of two things: the Internet or GPRS. Once the cell phone has its location from the GPS receiver it will then process filter it through the free cell phone tracking software. This software will package the information in such a way that it can be made available online for the for the users friends or family to view.
If the free online GPS cell phone tracking software is a real time tracker, this information is going to be sent in a nearly continuous basis for as long as the program is running on the phone and the phone is receiving a signal from a cell phone tower. If either of these items is lost, so is the real time tracking ability of the software.
So now that we have a cursory understanding of how free cell phone tracking services work I hope that it is fairly clear how this can be less than free for some people. The main points of cost are in the cell phone itself and in the data plan that you must have in order to make use of the tracking software.
The Costs: GPS Enabled Cell Phones
The free, online GPS cell phone tracking software ceases to be free when you have to upgrade your phone to one that is compatible with the software and that has GPS installed in it. Some of these phones can be pretty pricey. An iPhone 3G will run you $99 and a Blackberry Curve can run you $129. This is certainly not free. Now if you already owned one of these mobile phones then downloading the free GPS tracking software onto your mobile phone isn’t going to cost you anything extra.
This is why up above I mentioned that the answer to the question posed in the title of this article was, “It depends.”
The Costs: The Data Plan
The second cost that is going to be associated with GPS cell phone tracking is going to be that data plan on your phone. I recently looked to see if this was something that my wife and I should get on our cell phone plan. She was about to get a free upgrade for her old phone and some Blackberries were available. But in looking at the data plans her carrier offered it would cost an additional $30 a month. Since we wouldn’t have gotten the data plan otherwise this seemed like a lot of money to us.
As a result, she went with another phone instead (the LG Envy) because there was no use in getting the Blackberry since we weren’t going to pony up the cash for the data plan. Paying $30 a month will quickly turn into $360 over the course of one year. That is a lot to be paying for a “free” GPS cell phone tracking service.
Can GPS Tracking Truly Be Free
But this leads us to another important point – GPS tracking is probably never going to be free in my lifetime. There are too many powers that be that have a vested interest in making me pay for this type of information. If it is not the GPS manufacturers, it is going to be the cell phone companies that I would be using to send my position information wireless to my wife who would be sitting at a computer, checking out where I am online. At almost every point in the system there is someone to pay. So, if you are already paying all those people then you can say that your cell phone tracking is free – but it is not truly free.
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear sir
i would like to buy the small chip tracking and the monitor to track the
cel phone or the labtoob ? how ?
best regards
Hello Adel,
I think that the best way to get a small tracking chip for your laptop or cell phone is to buy a laptop or a cell phone that already has one in it. This can be done very easily with a cell phone, but it might take a little more effort with a laptop.
If you don’t go that route, you are going to run into all sorts issues if you try and install your own tracking chip in a cell phone or laptop. If you can handle that, then that is fine. But for most people doing this themselves would be too much,
-Joe
If my blackberry has a tracking system can i leave it in my husband car to track his where about? I know he is cheating, but i can’t afford a private investigator .
Hi Elaine,
I am so sorry to hear about your husband! That is seriously lame and I hope it isn’t not the case that he is cheating on, but if he is you certainly have a right know.
To answer your question – yes, if you have some GPS tracking software on your Blackberry you can track it if you leave it inside your husbands car. You just need to make sure that the cell phone is turned on and that the tracking software is turned on as well.
There is one thing that you want to be careful about and that is the battery life. I don’t know how long a Blackberry will hold its charge while running a GPS tracking application so you want to make sure that you test it out a little before you rely upon it too much. The best way to test it is to fully charge the battery on your phone and then turn it on, turn on your tracking software, and then wait and see how long it takes for the battery to run out. If it only lasts for an hour, you might have a hard time using the Blackberry to track your husband.
One thing that might help is plugging the phone in inside the car using a cell phone adapter, but that might mess things up unless you have a habit of leaving your cell phone in husbands car plugged in. If not, you might to find another option to track your husband since an hour isn’t very much time for him to do something that would let you know if he is cheating on you..
-Joe
I have been doing research because I want to know if my husband is cheating also. Best things I have found is on ebay and it is a gps tracker. One is a real time tracker that you put under the seat and you can track him on your computer and the battery last 2 days and it comes with 2 batteries. The other and one I got goes under the seat and last up to 7 days, you take it out and download everything to your computer. It tells you where, when and how long they are anywhere. I chose this one because it is hunting season and my husband goes to the hunting camp sometimes days at a time. I came into this site because I was hoping to be able to track him on his cell also, but he doesn’t have a blackberry. Hope this helps
Hi Shrea,
I am so sorry that your husband might be cheating on you. That seriously sucks and I hope that his cheating stops immediately and that your marriage can be restored.
Your comment does help a lot. It will help people see that there are really two avenues that people can use to track someone – a real time GPS tracker and a data logger GPS tracker. The real time device will have a shorter battery life than a data logger but it will be able to give you information on where the person is right now. The later is also generally cheaper than the former, making it much more cost effective for those that don’t have a lot of money to spend tracking a spouse.
Your comment also highlighted some of the key issues that people need to consider when thinking about tracking someone. You had to think about when and where your husband goes and how long it will take you to get the tracker out of his vehicle. You also had to think of how much information you might have to go through in order to find out the truth of whether or not your husband is cheating. Both are important things.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
-Joe
Yes, with the number of children that go missing each year, every parent should use a personal GPS tracking device, but you dont have to be a parent to need or benefit from owning one of these devices. Motorcycles, skis, musical instruments, laptop computers, purses & luggage, even the family dog: EVERYBODY has SOMETHING they want to protect!!!
When considering the purchase of a tracking device, do your homework because not all GPS systems are alike. Aside from features such as Geofencing, speed-alerts and so on, the one thing you really need to look into is the COST. Most GPS devices I’ve looked into have HIDDEN costs such as monthly/annual renewal fees or charge you per track ontop of the purchase price. For instance, when I called Best-Buy to get more info on the “Little Buddy” they couldn’t even tell what the OTHER costs of thier system were.
I ended up buying a system called “The GPS Guadian” at thegpsguardian.com . Not only did I get the device for FREE by purchasing 3 years of service up front, but I got the 4th and 5th year of service for FREE as well.
MMM. . . which is the greater betrayal, banging some broad on the side, or surreptitiously sneaking a high tech digital tracking device on your spouse, without his knowledge.
One thing, as a husband who cheated on his wife and is now on his second marriage (with whom he was cheating, and who herself was cheating on her hubby), I can tell you what the problem is.
YOU. For you it is easier to get a gadget, catch him in “ultimate betrayal” and make it all his fault and turn him into your puppy, than it is to work on the real problem. Are you fat, uninteresting, do you nag, did you give up that whole “makeup” thing years ago for a comfy flannel nightshirt and sweat pants. More interested in the latest gossip from your neighbor than hitting the gym, and wearing something sexy with candles and a surprise dinner when hubby gets home? Did you stop doing that “other” stuff, except on birthdays.
Of course, he could have turned into a complete slob that you are no longer interested in. . . but then, ask yourself, if he is so disgusting you don’t want to do him, why do you care if he is doing someone else?
Skip the gizmo, go to marriage counseling.
P.S. Most hunters I know would NEVER give up hunting time [to commit adultery]. After all, with hunting, you have a bag limit, and a short season. On the other, its always open season. . . and if you don’t bag your game, you can buy it for about $100 an hour. Just check craigs list.
Hi Joe M,
You are right on – many real time GPS tracking devices do have a service plan that ends up costing a lot of money. I have not read much about the GPS Guardian and I don’t know how reliable their service is. As such, I don’t think I would recommend them to anyone just yet. I would need to find out more information about their service and how well they deliver on their promise of reliable, useful, and consistent GPS tracking service.
-Joe
Just a thought. . . .
If you put the device in the car, you are only tracking the car. Sooo if he parks at the gym and walks 1 block to the hotel, what have you learned? Only where the car is parked, so guess who should get an iPhone for Christmas?
Hi ReRe,
That is definitely an issue that you have to think about when making a decision track a spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend. Just tracking their car only tells you where the car has been. But if you can track a cell phone you are much more likely to be able to tell where they themselves have been because people are much more likely to take their cell phone with them wherever they go.
While a stand-alone GPS tracking data logger will be cheaper in the long run, using a GPS cell phone tracking system will generally provide superior tracking results and features. And if you are already paying for all the stuff that you need (data plan, cell phone, etc) then there is no reason not to go the cell phone route in my opinion.
-Joe
Hello, I have a few questions for you. I got my Nokia cell phone lost a few days ago, I went to tech.com and eastmobiles.com and asked them to track my cell phone without any reply, can you track my cell phone? If yes I will send you my IMEI code, thanks.
Hi Nell,
I cannot track your cell phone for you. Sorry, I hope that you find it thought!
-Joe
I need help please. i have a 10 year old son who i have custody off. He went to his mum for the summer vacation and she does not want to return him. His phone is switched off, and she has two cell phone numbers on two different networks (SA). Is there any way i cal track her location? PLEASE HELP!!!
Distressted Dad
Hi Distressed Dad,
I really think that you should talk with the police about this. If you have custody of your son and your son’s mother is holding him against your will then you need to contact the police to get your son back. I’m not sure which country you live in, but if you live in the United States this is called kidnapping and is a very serious crime. What she is doing is illegal and she needs to be caught.
As to whether or not you can track her the answer is going to be no. You simply don’t have the capability right now to do that – but the police do. There is an interesting news story that I found that will give you a basic understanding of how the police might be able to use her cell phones to find her position: GPS Tracking In Cell Phone Recovers Missing Child
I really hope that you can get your son back, but you need to call the police to do so. They are the only ones who can help you now.
-Joe
my bf has the envy celphone and it be nice to tack him threw his phone so i know where he is incase he gets in an accident and i know where to send help ect
Hi jr,
You are in luck, the LG enV cell phone is GPS-enabled. This means that if you have a data plan on the phone and you can find some free cell phone tracking software that is compatible with his device then you will be able to turn his phone into a tracking device. That is pretty sweet, no?
-Joe
I was wondering if you really do need a data plan to take advantage of the free GPS cell phone tracking available, after all most smart phones these days like the iPhone, HTC Hero, Samsung Behold II, and the new Nexus One all have Wi-Fi enabled. Just a thought that perhaps instead of paying costly data plan fees every month, just use the Wi-Fi in the area. I am well aware that sometimes there may not be Wi-Fi in that specific area all the time, but who needs to track where their phone is every few seconds every day with unlimited data, it just wastes battery life on the phone. I also had an idea of having a website that can track where the phone is via GPS and give the choice of sendibg back the coordinates with either Wi-Fi or with an available data plan. It would be nice for a website to lock down a phone with a password lock remotely should the phone ever get stolen, but that is another matter and may even cost $5-10 a month. I wonder if there any free applications of any of the ones I mentioned above or if there will ever be something like that.
Just my two cents.
Hi Tyler,
Thanks for the comment. I think that you are right – all these phones are Wi-Fi enabled. But I am also pretty sure that you can only really buy one of these phones at the discounted rate – which is still a lot of money, like $100-$200 – if you have to signed up for a 2 year contract that includes a data plan. Otherwise the phone costs something like $700 or some ridiculous crap like that. Cell phone companies really know how to screw consumers over…
If it wasn’t for that then your idea would be pretty spot on for those who just want to casually share their position information with their friends. A service like Google Latitude would probably work perfect for them. But if you wanted to do any type of continuous GPS tracking for the cell phone you most certainly need a data plan that is going to cover it for you.
As to your “remotely lock” feature, the closest thing I have seen is MobileMe application on the iPhone. It lets you track your phone if it gets stolen, wipe your contacts list, and even display a custom message on the phone. Its pretty sweet and costs something like $99 for a year – but you get a lot more than that with the service. One person even used it to catch the criminal that mugged him:
http://www.gpsfortoday.com/gps-cell-phone-tracking-finds-stolen-cell-phone-catches-criminals/
Thanks for stopping by.
-Joe
I have the Samsung Behold and was wondering if there is a tracking device on it that I can be tracked in case of emergency. I can’t seem to find it on my phone.
I would appreciate any help
Moni
Hi Moni,
It is my understanding that the Samsung Behold does have a GPS on it. What this means is that your phone has the capability to be tracked via GPS, and that is all. It is really important that you understand that there probably is not a program on your phone that is going to allow you to track your phone right now, but that your phone DOES have everything that it needs for you to be able to install your own program and have it run properly.
If you are looking for a program to install, you can check out Google Latitude or another program that has found its way onto our Free GPS Tracking Software and Application list. Once you have it installed, you should be able to track your phone as long as the phone is on and the program that you installed is running.
-Joe
hi i would like to track the mobile number of my boy friend i have doubt on him he may cheat me
Hi Ashik,
Tracking someone’s phone secretly is definitely a lot more difficult than tracking someone who wants to be tracked. There are some paid programs that are out there that you can install on your boyfriend’s phone that might be able to help you track them secretly, but you also have to do some sneaking around to get his cell phone long enough to install the program.
You might be able to do it for free with some of the free cell phone tracking programs available if you play your cards right. Something like Google Latitude could be pretty useful here, since it is a social GPS tracking application that could be useful for a lot of different things other than making sure your boyfriend is being faithful.
I really hope your boyfriend isn’t cheating, but if he is I hope you find out and find out soon.
-Joe