How to Locate Someone without Them Knowing for Free

At some point, you might need to locate someone for free — whether it’s to find a loved one, keep an eye on an employee, or protect a child. Maybe you’re wondering how to locate someone without them knowing, and without paying anything.

In this article, we’ll explain how to locate a person’s location — whether it’s to check where a friend is or to find someone using their phone number for free. Let’s look at 6 practical methods together!

Method 1. Msafely – The Best App to Locate Someone Without Them Knowing

Msafely is a highly-rated mobile app known for its accuracy in tracking people’s locations using GPS and geofencing technology. It lets you track someone in real-time on both Android and iPhone devices — all while staying discreet.

One of Msafely’s main features is the ability to set up geofencing zones. You’ll get instant alerts if the person leaves a certain area. This makes it especially useful if you want to locate someone without them knowing — whether it’s a child, an employee, or someone else.

⭐ Key features of Msafely

Track someone’s location in real-time with high accuracy.
View their location history and routes on a map.
Set up geofencing alerts so you don’t need to constantly check.
Track location through social apps like WhatsApp, Snapchat, and more.

How to locate someone without them knowing with Msafely

Step 1. Go to Msafely’s official website and create a free account.

Step 2. Choose the target device type – Android or iOS.

Step 3. Select a subscription plan.

Step 4. Go to Msafely's dashboard to view location data and start tracking.

Method 2. Google Family Link – Track a Child for Free

Google Family Link is a free location tracking tool mainly designed to help parents monitor their children's online activity. But it can also be used to locate someone for free — as long as their device is set up with the app in advance.

While its location accuracy may vary, you can enable high-precision mode to improve tracking. Family Link is especially helpful for keeping your loved ones safe, and is often used to monitor children.

⭐ Key features of Google Family Link

Track a child’s location for free, or anyone connected to your account.
Real-time location tracking with optional high-accuracy mode.
Monitor online activity to help keep your family safe.

How to locate someone’s phone for free with Google Family Link

Step 1. Download Google Family Link on both your device and your child’s device.

Step 2. Create a Google account for your child.

Step 3. Link the accounts and set up location permissions To do this, open the app, tap “Location”, select your child’s account, then tap “More” and go to “Location settings.” Enable “See your child’s location.”

Step 4. From your device, open the app and enable location tracking to monitor your child’s movements.

Method 3. Detectico – Locate Someone Using Their Phone Number

Detectico is a convenient online platform that lets you locate a mobile phone using just a phone number. With this service, you can find someone for free by their number — no need to access their phone or contact them directly.

However, it’s important to note that the person must click on a link sent by Detectico for the location tracking to work.

In addition to phone tracking, Detectico also offers a few other handy tools:

Reverse username lookup.
Reverse phone number lookup.
Identify the owner of an unknown number.

How to locate someone by phone number with Detectico

Step 1. Go to Detectico’s official website.

Step 2. Enter the target person’s phone number.

Step 3. Detectico will send a text message with a location link to that phone.

Step 4. Once the person clicks the link, you’ll see their exact location.

Method 4. Google Maps – Locate a Friend for Free

Google Maps is more than just a navigation app. It also allows you to locate a friend for free — as long as they agree to share their location with you.

With its advanced location tracking, Google Maps lets you find someone anywhere in the world, as long as they enable location sharing.

You can even track a phone number for free if that number is sharing its location through the app.

⭐ Key features of Google Maps

Real-time location sharing with contacts.
View travel history and previous routes.
Get movement notifications when someone changes location.

How to locate a friend for free with Google Maps

Step 1. On the person’s phone, open the Google Maps app.

Step 2. Go to the menu and tap “Location sharing” .

Step 3. Choose a sharing duration (e.g., “Until you turn this off” for ongoing tracking) .

Step 4. Select your Google account as the recipient.

Step 5. On your device, sign in with your Google account to receive live updates.

Now, you can see their live location on the map from your own phone.

Method 5. Find My – Free Phone Tracker

For smartphones, built-in tools like Find My iPhone (for iPhones) and Find My Device (for Android phones) let you locate a phone for free.

These apps are built directly into iOS and Android operating systems, making it easy and effective to track someone for free or to find a lost phone.

These services are usually enabled by default when you create an iCloud account (for iPhone) or a Google account (for Android).

⭐ Key features of Find My

Real-time phone location tracking.
Remotely erase data to protect your personal info.
Play a sound to help find a phone, even if it’s on silent.

▶️ How to track an iPhone for free with Find My iPhone

Step 1. Make sure the Find My feature is enabled on the target iPhone.

Step 2. Log into iCloud using the person’s Apple ID.

Step 3. Select the Find My option to see the phone’s current location.

⏩ How to locate someone’s Android phone for free

Step 1. Make sure location is enabled on the target Android phone.

Step 2. Go to Find My Device and sign in with your Google account.

Step 3. Choose the device you want to track and view its real-time location on the map.

Method 6. Locate Someone Through Social Media

Nowadays, many people share their location on social media. Popular platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Twitter allow you to locate someone for free using their location-sharing features.

In particular, Snapchat offers a dedicated feature called Snap Map, which lets you track your friends' real-time location.

By using these location-sharing options, you can easily find out where a friend is — as long as they have enabled the feature and agreed to share their location with you.

This is especially helpful for staying in touch with loved ones or keeping track of where your friends are, without needing to ask them directly.

FAQs

Q1. How can I locate someone using their phone number for free?

You can locate someone by their phone number using one of the methods mentioned in this article. For example, Detectico allows you to enter the person’s phone number on the platform, and once the person clicks the location link sent to them, you’ll get their exact location.

Q2. How can I track someone on WhatsApp without them knowing?

WhatsApp allows users to share their live location if they choose to. However, if you want to track someone without them knowing, apps like Msafely can be used to monitor their location through WhatsApp discreetly.

Q3. How do I know if someone is tracking my location?

There are a few signs that may indicate someone is tracking you: unexpected location notifications, unusual GPS activity, or your battery draining faster than normal. You can also check your phone’s location permissions in the settings to see which apps have access.

Q4. How can I track someone’s phone for free?

If both phones are the same type (e.g., both iPhones), you can use Find My to track the phone for free, as long as location services are enabled. For different devices (e.g., iPhone and Android), you can use third-party tools like Google Maps, as long as the person has shared their location with you. If you want to track a phone without the person’s permission, Msafely is a good option.

Conclusion

And there you have it — now you know how to locate someone without them knowing. We've covered six practical methods to help you track a person’s location.

Whether it’s to keep an eye on your child, find a friend in danger, monitor your employees, or recover a lost or stolen phone, you can now start using these tools to track a device easily and effectively.